Of Parades and Parades

This Morning I took two of my four children to see the Trinidad & Tobago Independence day parade. We usually go especially to see the fly pass of the planes, helicopters etc. but this year we just went along the parade route to see the marching bands. The children loved it. The horses the marchers, the bands.. it rocked. Of course the thrill of every child in an outing is the snacks. So some "doubles" by George, a beer at the Brooklyn Bar, snow cones and we're good to go.

With the parade I got to thinking about the "pentecostals" and their annual march through the city with gospel music blasting from trucks and Our Catholic Processions on Good Friday and Corpus Christi. Our Processions are not the nice bouncy ones. We Catholics need a nice bouncy parade. We should have a "He is Risen" Parade. Oh the Joy!

I remembered the Administrator for the Cathedral saying that he was not interested in having Christmas diner because there was always alot of food around at Christmas time and that it would be so much better to have an Easter diner, since our faith is based on the Risen Christ of Easter. (Of course I paraphrase). I think he was right.

Our Easter Parades should not be little children walking through the city or a Mall on a secular Easter Bonnet Parade.

It's just a thought!

We pray for the Miners

Every Morning my children pray for their great uncle Mario, that he may have a proper and speedy recovery from his stroke. They have decided to add to their prayer list the trapped miners in Chile.

What an awful thing to be trapped in such a place for so many months, but they are trying to make the best of it. They are requesting statues of Saints and are setting up a chapel. Already they have been sent a crucifix through the small hole that they are transferring food down.

What a joy to find the Lord, even in such circumstances. So we Pray for them to have continued strength.

This guy I know was telling me of his son who thought of himself as a gangster type. He got himself in trouble with the law and was sent to jail. When he realised the loneliness of incarceration he had a bre4akdown and was sent the the mental asylum in the St Anns Parish.

These people in Chile committed no crime yet they are condemned to live in confinement for several months. Thankfully, they are all alive. As everyone should know Chile is a very active country when it comes to earthquakes. So we pray for their well being also.

God Protect them and keep them safe.

Happy Feast Day Saint Monica

Saint Monica is the patron Saints of Mothers, and I think they need one. My wife has come close on several occassions to reducing my family's number. I am reminded of a joke from comedian Adam Ferrara which I cannot recall in it's entirety. Instead of thinking about the misdeeds of little ones, let us think about the misdeeds of big children. Let's ask saint Monica to intercede for mothers who live in sorrow over the direction that their big children have taken:

To St. Monica, Patroness of Mothers

Blessed Monica, mother of St. Augustine, we give thanks to our Father in heaven Who looked with mercy upon your tears over your wayward son. His conversion and heroic sanctification were the fruit of your prayers. Dear St. Monica, we now ask you to pray with us for all those sons and daughters that have wandered away from God, and to add your prayers to those of all mothers who are worried over their children. Pray also for us that, following your example, we may, in the company of our children, one day enjoy the eternal vision of our Father in heaven. Amen.

Seen any patron saints for suffers of the common cold?

So I am sick with the cold. I have it pretty bad so I decided to search for a patron saint of people who suffer with the common cold. Below is the closest I have come to finding such a saint:

• Agathius - headache
• Agrippina of Mineo - bacterial diseases, and bacterial infections
• Apollonia - toothache
• Augustine of Hippo - sore eyes
• Bernardino of Siena - chest problems, lung problems,
• Blaise - ailments of the throat
• Crescentinus – headache
• Cyriacus - eye diseas
• Denise -against headaches
• Gemma Galgani - headaches,
• Gerard of Lunel - headaches
• Gereon -headaches,
• Gertrude of Nivelles -invoked against fever,
• Godelina -throat trouble[28]
• Gotthard of Hildesheim -invoked against fever
• Harvey -eye problems, eye disease
• Hugh of Cluny - fever
• Saint Medard - toothache
• Patroclus of Troyes- fever
• Pancras - cramp, headache,
• Teresa of Avila - headaches
• Theobald of Provins - invoked against fever; dry cough
• William Firmatus - against headache
• Saint Quentin - coughs, sneezes,
• Arthelais - illness

I need to seek out this person:
• Saint Paulina - Diabetics

What I find funny is the following :
• Balbina - scrofula – I never heard of this ailment before today
• Albinus of Angers - against pirate attack – OK! So everything is possible with God so I am not going to make fun of this guy… I might need him one day!
• Expeditus - invoked against procrastination – I think it’s so funny that the guy who is the Patron saint of Procrastination is Saint Expeditus.

Well. Failing a patron Saint I am going straight to the big daddy!

Dear God, please take this cold away from me and my family and bring us back to good health. Amen.

Tuesday: Feast of Saint Bartholemew - Apostle

Monday: The feast of St Rose of Lima

The Feast of The Queenship of Mary

Obsessive Behaviour, Addiction, Passion or Overly Religious

Some time ago I was having a discussion with someone who thought that it was not necessary to go to church on a regular basis and that they couldn't stand over religious people.

The argument was a simple one for me.

Is it necessary to go to church all the time? It is just as necessary or even more so than it is necessary to go to school all the time? or to go for regular treatment for a Cancer? or to get your dialysis? If you want to achieve a living soul for the after life, if you want to grow in the love of God and be a spiritual adult you need to go to church. I am saying this, but you also need to do your homework and live right.

About the over religious people. What is that? People who have passion for God. What is a life without passion? Responsibility suppresses our passions. Without responsibility our passions would be expressed as Obsessive behaviour or addictions. How sad for anyone who lacks passion in their life. How wonderful for those with passion if that passion is for God.

I don't think I have convinced the young lady on either account. Maybe some day she will understand fully and start a proper relationship with God until then we will pray for her.

Spain Offers World Cup Victory to Our Lady of Guadeloupe

Well, What wonderful news. Spain offers World cup Victory to Our Lady of Guadeloupe.

In all the madness of the world with the world cup and all the talk about the European Union deChristianizing Europe there was some wonderful news and great hope comming out of the world cup for Catholics:

There was David Silva who thanked publicly Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the Spanish Victory.

There was Andres Iniesta who made a pilgrimage to St James under the Stars (Santiago de Compostella). This is the guy who scored the winning goal.

Throughout the competition we heard of different Catholic Personalities on one side or another including Jermain Defoe, Kolo Toure and Wayne Rooney (never mind on the last World Cup Ronney badly fouled our Trini player... we are forgiving). In fact when Rooney was being interviewed and the reporter asked about his rosary and his Catholic Faith an official from the Football Association stepped in and said "We don't do Religion", whiched miffed the Interviewer.

We have comments from different Bichops, Archbishops and Cardinals, and we have the Pope himself making positive comments about Sport and Religion... and of Course the World Cup.

How wonderous it is to have all these people raise the Cross High... to proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ as Catholics.

So getting back to Spain's victory in the World cup and Our Lady of Guadeloupe you can read the article on this LINK.

The Assumption of Mary

Today is the feast of the Assumption of Mary. There is no scriptural reference to Mary being assumed into Heaven as Jesus was, however Homilies can be found as far back as the 6th century referring to the event. From the personal revelation of Sister Anne Catherine Emmerick there is a story of the death and assumption of our Lady:


The funeral procession stopped at the right of the entrance to the tomb. Here [the Apostles] laid down the holy body, and then four of them carried it into the burial-chamber in the rock and laid it in the place hollowed out for it. All those present went in one by one and laid spices and flowers beside the body, kneeling down and offering up their prayers and their tears.

Many lingered there in love and sorrow, and night had fallen when the Apostles closed the entrance to the tomb. They dug a trench before the narrow entrance of the rock-tomb, and planted in it a hedge of various shrubs brought with their roots from elsewhere. Some had leaves, some blossoms, and some berries. They made the water from a near-by spring flow in front of the hedge, so that no trace of the entrance to the tomb could be seen and none could enter the cave without forcing a way round behind the hedge.

They went away in scattered groups, some remaining to pray and watch by the tomb, others stopping to pray here and there. Those who were on their way home saw from the distance a strange radiance over Mary’s tomb, which moved them to wonder, though they did not know what it really was.

It was as if a shaft of light descended from heaven towards the tomb, and in this shaft was a lovely form like the soul of the Blessed Virgin, accompanied by the form of Our Lord. Then the body of the Blessed Virgin, united to the shining soul, rose shining out of the grave and soared up to heaven with the figure of Our Lord.

I saw her soul, united to her transfigured body, rising out of the tomb far brighter and clearer, and ascending into the heavenly Jerusalem with Our Lord and with the whole glory. Thereupon all the radiance faded again, and the quiet starry sky covered the land.

I do not know whether the Apostles and holy women praying before the tomb saw all this in the same manner, but I saw them looking upwards in adoration and amazement, or throwing themselves down full of awe with their faces to the ground.

Thus I did not see the Blessed Virgin die in the usual manner, nor did I see her go up to heaven; but I saw that first her soul and then her body were taken from the earth.

Saint Max Kolbe

I was speaking with the sextant of the Cathedral today. He was telling me about a conversation he had with a youth. The individual went everywhere with his cell phone, but did not walk around with a weapon that every Catholic should walk around with: THE ROSARY.

Today's Saint, Maximillian Mary Kolbe was a strong believer in the intercession of the Virgin and with her help was able to do many great things for God!

Hey! If you don't walk around with a rosary. You should. Get one today and keep it close.

Is it adultry for a catholic man to leave his wife who he married in another denomination to live with someone else

Last Saturday morning I was accosted by two ladies at the Cathedral. They wanted to speak to the priest and asked if I was he. (Poor things. I am far from being a priest. ) When I said no they asked if I was an ELDER. Immediately bells started going off…. Pentecostals! I again said no, but as the discussion continued, I discovered her true purpose for being there.

She asked me a simple question. If one is married in the Pentecostal faith and one’s husband leaves one to live with another woman, is he committing adultery according to the Catholic Church. It seems that her “mother in law” is a Catholic and never approved of the Pentecostal marriage and did not deem his new relationship as adultery. Basically, she wanted to prove her mother in law wrong and take a jab at those holier than thou Catholics. The only problem is that the truly holy Catholics are so very aware of our sinful nature.

My answer to the lady and her female friend was that sex out of marriage is a sin and that however you paint it, this man is committing a sin.

A priest did speak with them and said more or less the following: If you are not a member of the Catholic faith then the church does not have a say concerning your marriage; If you are baptised in the Catholic church then you are Catholic and fall under the rules of the Catholic church. So you need to marry in the church otherwise you are a sinner; Before the church there was natural law which allowed you to marry by bonding; According to secular law no matter what faith you are you are married under the eyes of the law of the republic.

In summation, Yes, it is adultery according to the law of the land. According to the Catholic church it is not. The church does not recognise the marriage and therefore does not recognise the dissolution of the marriage. He is still having sex out of wedlock. He is sinning against God!

The ATM of the Caribbean

I didn't see the interview with Mr Cadiz, so perhaps I am speaking out of turn. On a TV interview this morning I was told that he spoke about giving money to Haiti. Basically he echoed the "Trinidad is not the ATM of the Caribbean" sentiment from the Prime Minister.

He spoke about giving to Haiti so as to benefit Trinidad. In other words, give with the intention to have a financial return. WHAT???

The Caribbean is made up of Volcanic islands that sit in the Hurricane belt. There will be natural disasters. Trinidad is the oil rich nation among the group. We are obligated as a nation to help any nation that we can.

As Catholics, we should make it known that we support our country giving monies to other Caribbean nations in crisis.

Vocations increase in India, Despite Violence against Catholics

It surely is good news. Vocations increase in India despite violence against Catholics and other Christians. You know, I think it increases BECAUSE of the violence. That is to say that, in the midst of persecution we become stuborn about our faith. We becomea dedicated. We become the best Catholics we could ever be.

Hey! That's not saying that there should be persecution here. OK? Maybe you should just read the article on the Catholic News Agency Site. Just follow the link: Vocations Increase in India

The Transfiguration by Raphael

So Raphael's last work the Transfiguration has a writer for L'Obsservatore Romano in a tizzy. He thinks it ought to be returned to the church it used to hang in. This is what the author says about the work as it sits in the Vatican Museum:

"A work of sacred art placed in a museum, even with the best intentions and perhaps better protected, loses three-quarters of its verbal capacity just for the fact that it is placed outside of the context for which it was created. Today,in the Pinacoteca, the Transfiguration is only an object, still among the most excellent, lined up with many others, but devoid of the strength that came from it as part of the liturgical mystery, of the place of prayer."

So what do we know about this work? Well here is what is said about it:

The transfiguration was painted on a wooden surface over a period of four years by Raphael up until death in 1620. It used to be hung in a church (St Peter in Montorio). It has been on display in the Vatican Museums' Pinacoteca, or picture gallery, for the last 200 years.

The painting draws from St. Matthew's Gospel. In its upper portion is the Transfigured Christ with Moses and Elijah. At their feet are Peter, James, and John. In the foreground are the other Apostles and onlookers, including a possessed young man recounted in the gospel.

Giorgio Vasari, Raphael's 16th century biographer and noted artist himself, described the work as "the most famous, the most beautiful and most divine."

The bright light which encirles our Lord is meant to imitate the Eucharist.

You know, I agree with the guy from the L'Obsservatore Romano. His name is Marco Agostini. Cheers Marco. I support you.

Beyonce evil?

Ok! so have you heard that Beyonce is evil? Yes it's true... I read it on the internet.

So there is this site called the Vigilant Citizen and this person is absolutely sure that Beyonce has sold her soul. If nothing else it makes for interesting reading. Personally I don't think that she did sell her soul or that she is evil. I do believe however that she should publicly give praise to God in her songs. That would be nice.