Catholic mother of 10

I am sorry to hear that Jackie Parkes, the Catholic mother of 10, is now off-line, I hope it will prove to be a temporary hiatus, and that she will soon feel able to continue her courageous and inspiring witness on-line, as a Catholic mother.

The Catholic mother of 10 blog, was among those which encouraged me to start my own.
God bless Jackie and her family.

Well done,Pilgrim Homes!

Fr. Ray has posted that a Brighton nursing home, run by a 200 year old Christian charity,Pilgrim Homes, has successfully faced down the city council over it's threat to remove funding because the nursing home would not make its residents answer intrusive questions about their sexuality.

Catholics and Christians everywhere,I am sure, would be happy to congratulate Pilgrim homes on the success of the principled stand it has taken, so I am providing below some contact details:

email: brighton@pilgrimhomes.org.uk

Pilgrim Homes Head Office : 0300 303 1412

the Nursing Home : 0300 303 1440

Human Life is beautiful..even when it's weak

I am deeply moved by the Holy Father's Message for the 17th World Day of the Sick, which will be celebrated on the 11th February, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. You can read the whole message here, below I include a couple of paragraphs:

"This year our attention turns particularly to children", the Pope writes in his Message, "and especially to sick and suffering children. There are young human beings whose bodies bear the consequences of incapacitating illnesses, and others who struggle against sicknesses that remain incurable even today, despite the progress in medical science".

"Daily dedication and ceaseless commitment in the service of sick children are an eloquent testimony of love for human life, especially for the lives of the weak and of those entirely dependent upon others. We must, in fact, vigorously affirm the absolute and supreme dignity of each human life. Though time may pass, the teaching incessantly proclaimed by the Church remains unchanged: human life is beautiful and must be lived to the full even when its is weak and enveloped by the mystery of suffering".

We live in a world where people often don't know how to respond when they come face to face with a severely disabled child, or adult. A common reaction is to stare in silence, or to look away,as if reminded of a problem sitting on the in tray, still waiting to be solved.

Occasionally, braver souls will offer a tentative smile, or even a kindly spoken word.

The Holy Father's words speak the beautiful truth, that the lives of those who are disabled are willed by God, written into His Divine plan; for some of us, His way of providing teachers of self sacrificing and unconditional love.

The Holy Father concludes:

"My very special greetings to you, dear children who are sick and suffering. The Pope embraces you, your parents and your families with paternal affection, and assures you of a special mention in his prayer, inviting you to trust in the maternal assistance of Mary Immaculate."

To be embraced by His Vicar on earth is to be embraced by Christ.

Thank you Holy Father, and thanks be to God.

Sunday afternoon

It was a pleasure to spent a few hours in the company of local members of the National Association of Catholic Families.We met together for lunch, prayers, and discussion of some of the common themes relating to the challenges of raising a Catholic family in a post Christian culture.

Our local representative had some information about the Frankfurt School, a Marxist movement having its origins at Frankfurt University,and aimed at demolishing, from within, the basis of civilisation of the target country.
To help bring this about, the Frankfurt School recommended :


1. The creation of racism offences.
2. Continual change to create confusion
3. The teaching of sex and homosexuality to children
4. The undermining of schools and teachers' authority
5. Huge immigration to destroy identity.
6. The promotion of excessive drinking
7. Emptying of churches
8. An unreliable legal system with bias against victims of crime
9. Dependency on the state or state benefits
10. Control and dumbing down of media
11. Encouraging the breakdown of the family.

Any of the above sound familiar to anyone?

Just wondering....!

Pictures courtesy of Hallowed Ground

Invisible Women

There's a great deal that I can relate to in this piece posted by Fr. Z.
The mother who wrote it speaks about the work that mothers do and their sacrificial role, apparently unseen, even unappreciated.

This sentence resonates particularly:

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

Mothers don't need 'have it all' as an ideal, our vocation calls us to give it all, trusting in God's Providence and believing that He will never be outdone in generosity.

Follow that bus!

Well I had to give it a try!

thanks to Fr. T and Fr. R