I realise this is old news to anybody who reads blogs, but I think as many people as possible should see this...

An excellent vacancy has arisen for a Diocesan Secretary to fulfil the role of Chief Executive within the Clifton Diocese

....

We seek a person who embraces the values of, but is not necessarily a member of, the Catholic Church.

[link]

People often accuse me of disrespecting the Bishops. It's true that I have occasionally crossed the line and gone too far with my funny pictures but the fact is that fundamentally at the heart of everything I write on this blog is the rock solid belief that the Bishops are central and essential to the Church.

Sometimes priests say that if I don't like what the Bishops do then I should keep my mouth shut, ignore the problems and get on and do what good I can. That would be reasonable enough.. if I were a protestant.

If you want to see real disrespect for Bishops, look no further than Clifton Diocese where they have decided that the administration of a Diocese is a job better done by a non-Catholic professional than by a Catholic Bishop.

Embrace the values!

Every Catholic
in Pew-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...

But the Bishops,
Who lived just North of Pew-ville,
Did NOT!

It could be that their heads were not screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that their shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that their hearts were two sizes too small.

"Tomorrow is Christmas!" they snarled with a snort.
"WE MUST find a way to keep Christmas short!!"

For soon they knew all the Catholics who’d lapsed,
Would come to the Church for their once a year Mass!
They would want to sing carols of shepherds and kings,
of Mary and Joseph and Jesus and things!

The Bishops don't seem to believe in such stuff,
they seem to prefer sociological fluff.
So we hear how Mary probably wasn’t a maid,
and Jesus just came to sell us Fair Trade.
The whole thing is stories, the star is a myth!
Three women would have brought more practical gifts...

"WE MUST keep Christmas short!
...But HOW?"
Then they got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE BISHOPS
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

(An Epiphany!)

"We know just what to do!" They Laughed with a whistle,
as they pulled out their 60’s vernacular missal.
We’ll take the last day of this whole twelve day season,
the day when we all go Mass for a reason.
We’ll take that last day and we’ll move it aside.
The previous Sunday is where it will hide.

The twelve days of Christmas? Best make that eight!
The Bishops were laughing, they thought it was great.
Then they did the same thing to some other big feasts,
Like Ascension and Corpus Christi - the beasts!

A happy ending is not yet in sight,
so pray for a Christmas miracle tonight.
To melt the hearts of these grumpy old men,
and ask can we please have our feasts back again?

I think this pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter...

[link]

Of course, the people who really love the Church and respect the Bishops are those who are so impressed with the reality of the Church that they think it necessary to tell white lies and avoid talking about it in public.

Obviously.

Personally, I think it's more respectful of Bishops to tell the truth about them, even if it stinks, and then to love them anyway.

Love means loving the unlovable or it is no virtue.

I'm giving up blogging for lent and in the spirit of Fat Tuesday I'm having a clean out of all my bloggable material, just like the people of old who used to clear out all their cupboards of meat in preparation for the fast. I posted a load of stuff this morning but I have just found a final few more...

How to Enjoy a Plate of Waffles and Spaghetti - The ever practical I am Husband completes the trilogy just in time for Lent. How handy.

Can fonts make you want to exercise less? - Answer is yes apparently. To cut a long story short: All the people who send email in Comic Sans should stop.

Shrove Tuesday Revelations - Laurence England, another of my favourite bloggers, makes a corny joke about pancake day. I mainly include this as an excuse to tell you that his blog is excellent (and not usually about pancakes at all) and you should start reading it.

The Paternal Order of Priests - The legendary Scott Hahn writes about a homily by St Augustine in which the great saint referred to dads as "my fellow bishops" telling them "a man is called a bishop because he supervises and takes care of others, every man who heads a household also holds the office of bishop — supervising the way his people believe, and seeing that none of them fall into heresy, not his wife, or son, or daughter, or even his servant." Servant? Clearly St Augustine was writing before the credit crunch...

Ciao, probably - Berenike, who used to comment here until she stopped because she felt her commenting was ruining my otherwise friendly blog has also stepped out for lent, unless something particularly profound strikes her.

That's that.