This is cool. When our daughter Leona was born we named her Leona after Leo XIII who I had been reading a lot of at the time and thought was a good chap to be named after, but then we realised that Leona could also be after Leonardo Da Vinci and we said at the time that it was good because then she had a bit of science and a bit of religion.

Turns out Leonardo Da Vinci designed a cool mechanical lion to impress the King of France. By all accounts Da Vinci's lion was ahead of it's time using various mechanical trickery that didn't come in to common use until the industrial revolution. We are used to such things, but to people in the sixteenth century it must have been amazing.

Anyways, some Italian guys have studied the old sketches and made Da Vinci's Lion. It is very cool.

You can see a video of the lion in action here.

Okay, so it didn't settle, and there was barely enough to make a snow-teaparty let alone a snow-ball. But for Leona it was very exciting. It's not the first time she's seen snow, but it's the first time she's seen it and been old enough to get all excited.

The snow gets a definite thumbs up (sort of)...

Ella then remembered that normal people (grandparents etc) would be shocked and horrified at these photos of Leona in snow with no hat and gloves. We put some on sharpish...

Very Stylish.

My my my. A year. A whole year. I still feel a bit like she just arrived the other week but actually a lot has happened. In her first year girl has been through four weddings, two funerals and a flood. She's been all the way up to Durham and all the way down to Exeter (twice). Because Easter was early this year she managed two mothers days before her first birthday (only one fathers day). She's eaten goose and duck and lots of raisins and even moved house. Phew!

She is changing at an astonishing rate, the left picture was taken three months ago - she is propped up in a chair and we are all very excited about it...

...the second picture was taken much more recently, see how she effortlessly sits up with no support at all!

In fact, Leona is doing loads of things effortlessly these days. Ella dug out the book today they give you when your child is born and it's full of milestones you are supposed to look out for and note the date. They have almost all happened, she copies the sounds you make (simple sounds, not words) she claps when music plays and she even sings. She smiles, picks up "small objects", empties boxes of things and can take the lid of anything. She is heavily in to exploring things closely, here she is enjoying a spoon...

I mentioned singing. The singing isn't exactly singing as you or I might sing, she can't say the words for a start. It's more of a kind of high pitched humming sound with the sorts of breaks in you get when you go aaaaah and open and close your teeth without closing you mouth. As part of her exploration, Leona found the Piano:

When you bang the keys they make a sound, which is fun. Also fun are Christmas decorations:

Those are fair trade decorations by the way and only cost £1 for a great long woven streamer thing. I feel also strongly compelled to share with you this excellent example of Snorkel Face, Leona can make her top lip touch her nose which is impressive.

So what do you do for a first birthday? Well you get a balloon...

...and, if your name is Leona, you get a Lion Cake!

While listening to my mum recalling tales of my own childhood and the cakes I had I felt an obligation to provide Leona with a particularly special cake. We drew sketches and designs and everything. The best laid plans were hatched and all was going well Ella baked a beautiful sponge cake and asked me to use my carving skills to carve a Lion. I mauled it. I completely ruined the cake and do you know what, Ella saved it, she made it good again. Well done Ella!

So there we have it. One year old! Here's a traditional 0,3,6,9,12 months picture. The same baby grow (for scale) and the same dad (click here for large size)...

So all that remains is to say Happy Birthday, Sto Lat and thank you Leona for a great year.

Happy Birthday!

Nine months old. See-saw day. Leona has been out of the womb for as long as she was in it. She's developed amazingly since she was born. When I look back at the photos from her first week I barely recognise her. We did a bit of a recap at three and six months and now she is nine months old.

It's been a very exciting three months really, when it started we were just making our first tentative steps in to sitting in a high chair and being fed very very liquid goo. Now Leona is quite comfortable sitting in a high chair picking up segments of satsuma all by herself (pre-checked for pips of course) and eating them. She is crawling around rooms, getting hold of things she shouldn't and generally being a lot of fun. We are still loving the whole parenting thing and it's still no where near as bad as the hype suggested.

Leona is now crawling around...

She is sitting up on her own...

Getting expressive...

Something else Leona has been getting in to is books. Obviously she can't read yet but she has a few books with lots of pictures and (really impressively) she has learned to turn the pages.

Here's a nice photo of Leona and her mum...

And here's a photo of Leona and some old rocks we saw in a field...

She really has been growing...

In each of those photos, Leona is three months older than in the previous one. See how she grows! I don't suppose that babygrow will still fit her when she hit's the big one.

It seems only yesterday she was born, then she was named, then she was three months old. Now, she is SIX months old!

Time flies by when you're having fun!

In the last three months Leona has come along in leaps and bounds. She's had solid food (okay so not that solid)...

[if this spoon is in your house and you recently returned from a honeymoon in Ireland can we have it back now please]

She's been standing up (with a little help)...

Munching on Giraffes (no assistance required)...

Growing her feet...

Growing and Growing...

Yes, that is the same babygrow.

...and tiring us out!

Michelle and Jessica came over and Ella made a birthday cake and Leona couldn't blow the candle out but we sang Happy Birthday to you.

Happy Half Birthday Leona!

We haven't mowed the lawn since the floods and we weren't sure if we could because our lawn mower was submerged. It started up anyway and a cutting we went until one sudden movement and a near tragedy later we were looking at a frog.

The handsome fellow must have swam over from a garden pond somewhere during the floods and got cut off (and nearly cut up). We put him in an empty popcorn bucket and took him to Peter Pan Park Pond where he swam away a free frog once more.

[those without an hour to spend reading can click here to skip to the photos]

What is the most important event in a persons life?

The moment of conception looks pretty important and the hour of death certainly seems significant but mere existence alone doesn't give life much meaning and mere existence coming to an end doesn't add much to the mix.

Existence however isn't pointless, existence has meaning. God created the world for our sake. He knew we would be better off existing than not (even if it doesn't always feel like it). He created us because he loved us before we existed (wierd huh) and he created us to love him. That's the whole meaning of life really, love. The love between the Father and the Son is shared also between all those who can be called 'children of God' (John 1). Love cannot help but be generous. Love wants to share. God, who is love wants to share.

God doesn't need to share. God has everything he needs. God can do quite well on his own thankyouverymuch. But God wants to share.

So God gives us existence. He gives us life, he gives us friends and family, planet earth, sheep, monkeys and lions. He gives us food to eat and beer to drink. Not content with giving us all that stuff He gives us a share in the creation itself. He gives us art, music and ultimately sex so that we can take part in the mystery of creation. Through sex and marriage we produce children and become families that are (or would be) living icons of the trinity.

But things go wrong. Not because God has lost control but because He gave us another gift. Free will. Free will is one of the best things in the world because free will allows us to love. If we are not truly free then we cannot truly love. By giving us the ability to say 'no' God gives us the ability to say 'yes'. God gives us, mere mortals that we are, the ability to say 'two fingers to the father' and, sadly, we do. God isn't stupid though, God knows what he is doing. He knows the cost of free will and he chooses to do it anyway. Why? Like Thomas Aquinas says: "this is part of the infinite goodness of God, that He should allow evil to exist, and out of it produce good".

Ultimately, this leads to the most important event in the whole of history. The incarnation. God became man and after giving us everything else, he gave Himself. This act of God giving Himself to us is the whole reason for creation. God created everything so that he could give himself to us on the cross.

If the crucifixion is the most important event in the history of the world. Then the most important event in our lives must be this, the moment when we die with Christ in Baptism and receive his salvation.

Today, that happened to Leona...

How can I tell?

Sacrament!

One time when Jesus heals a blind man in the Bible he touches his eyes. He could just as easily have just made it happen without touching the guys eyes or by spitting in mud and rubbing it in the mans eyes (oh wait, he did to that one time - Jesus can do what he likes). Jesus chose to heal people while doing some kind of physical action so they could see what was going on, even though really, he could just as well have done it invisibly.

That's how it is with the sacraments, God uses outward signs (water, oil, etc) to show us the invisible action of inward grace (a grace is just something that God does for free). But the signs in a sacrament are not only symbolic, like when Jesus healed the blind man, the actions in the sacrament actually do> confer the free gifts of God that they represent. That's how I know what happened to Leona today, God made it visible through a sacrament because he wanted myself and others present to witness what was happening.

Leona's Baptism ceremony began, as I am told they all do, with Leona, her parents and godparents at the entrance to the Church. I don't know if it's usual for the parents and godparents to be united in their criticism of the priest at so early a stage but Fr Massie was very cryptic about what was going to happen and we were very much in the dark. I mean, we knew the symbols and stuff, but we had no idea where to stand and when. That bit by the entrance (called the 'reception') is a kind of welcoming of Leona in to the Church (not that she hasn't been before) and it's also the time that the parents are asked "Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?" We said 'we do', but do we really? Then the godparents are asked "Are you ready to help these parents in their duty as Christian mothers and fathers?" and they all said 'we do'.

Fr. Massie went to the front and welcomed everybody and did the preface (the Lord be with you etc). He explained that he had heard some discussion about how this is not a mass but 'just a baptism' and explained that there is no such thing as just a baptism.

Next up: The Liturgy of the Word.

It's a very old Christian tradition to have readings from the Bible with the celebration of Sacraments. Especially communion (every mass), Baptism, Marriage and Ordination. I daresay it says in some Vatican document somewhere to read the bible with Confession and the Last Rites also but I couldn't prove it. Ella and I decided to try and pick readings that explained Baptism as we see it. Eventually we settled on three readings and a psalm.

The First Reading - Exodus 15:1-19

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
'I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my might,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior;
the Lord is his name.

'Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea;
his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them;
they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power-
your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,
the floods stood up in a heap;
the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them."
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;
they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

'Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in splendour, doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand,
the earth swallowed them.

'In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed;
you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
The peoples heard, they trembled;
pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed;
trembling seized the leaders of Moab;
all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
Terror and dread fell upon them;
by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone
until your people, O Lord, passed by,
until the people whom you acquired passed by.
You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession,
the place, O Lord, that you made your abode,
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
The Lord will reign for ever and ever.'

When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.

[I admit it. It was too long. It looked so short (to me) on paper. I should have knocked out a few paragraphs.]

The Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians just as we are slaves to sin. God saved the Israelites through water. The Israelites entered the water with the Egyptians at their backs, but they came out of the water free. So it is in Baptism, we go in to the water under the burden of sin and we come out redeemed.

But how can we say that Leona is under the burden of sin? Leona is a baby, she has done nothing wrong (unless you count the occasional wayward poo). I find that the crossing of the Red Sea helps me to understand.

Imagine an Israelite baby in Egypt. She has never done any slavery, she hasn't been flogged as she hauls a rock up to the top of a pyramid in the midday sun. But we would still say she was born into slavery. Our imaginary baby is still saved from slavery by God in the crossing of the Red Sea. That's how it is with Leona. She is yet to partake in sin, but she is born into the world and the world is enslaved by sin. As the Israelite parents carried their children through the waters of the Red Sea, so Ella and I carry Leona through the waters of Baptism.

Psalm 124 fitted really well with our reading but it was more of the same and we had made our point. We opted for the following (beautifully read by Melissa):

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
'The Lord has done great things for them'.
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.

[we actually used a version of the above found in the missal that has seven ridiculously short verses]

The responsorial psalm is so called because it is a response to the first reading. We chose a song of thanksgiving. Because we are thankful. We are also thankful to Stephen Hoyland who kindly read this reading for us.

For the second reading we went with a much shorter reading. Ella's brother Simon read:

Second Reading - Galatians 3:22-28

But the scripture has imprisoned all things under the power of sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Hopefully this reading clarifies the first one a little bit. All thing imprisoned under the power of sin... faith has come... we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian... you are all children of God.

This is also the first reading that specifically refers to baptism and describes having 'clothed yourselves with Christ'. Something Leona will do symbolically (and sacramentally and therefore really) later in the ceremony.

Finally, after we sang the Alleluia Father Massie read the Gospel. It's a classic.

Gospel Reading - John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God'. Jesus answered him, 'Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above'. Nicodemus said to him, 'How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?' Jesus answered, 'Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit' What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit' Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above." The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.' Nicodemus said to him, 'How can these things be?' Jesus answered him, 'Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

'Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony' If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life'

'Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him'

The Gospel reading, as it so often does, explains everything. Nicodemus, a teacher of Israel, just doesn't get it. He's as confused as we are. Jesus refers to Moses, after getting the Israelites across the Red Sea he makes a bronze serpent and when Moses lifts the serpent people who have been bitten by serpents are healed. Jesus is the ultimate bronze serpent, when he is lifted up, everybody is healed.

After baptism, if any of us are bitten by the serpent again, we can look to Jesus who will heal our wounds in the sacrament of confession.

Poor Father Massie. I only gave him the readings at 10pm the night before. I spent hours pouring over them, he probably only had time for a few minutes. That said, he managed to say several new things that I hadn't heard before. For instance, I hadn't made the connection between the three days in the tomb and Leona having water poured on her three times.

He slandered the internet, saying that Cyprian of Carthage is not available online (which he is) and he claimed that the while entire court of heaven can make it to a Baptism they don't have wi-fi in heaven. As if.

He advertised this very blog and described me as "a demanding parishioner". Thats the nicest thing he's ever said about me. Eventually, the time came for the main event.

We began with bidding prayers (thanks to Matthew Neville for stepping in there) and we had an invocation of the saints. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us. Etc. I was worried he might forget but Father Massie was really good and put Leo the Great in there.

Next we had a prayer of exorcism. "We pray for this child: set her free from original sin, make her a temple of your glory, and send your holy spirit to dwell with her".

Next a bit of anointing. Anointing, is an ancient custom whereby a person is sealed with some appointment or office. For example a king is anointed with oil at his coronation. In the Christian tradition, this oil has come to be symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

Leona was anointed on the chest with the oil of Catechumens. This defines her appointment as a catechumen (a student of the faith) and strengthens her with the power of Christ.

Leona was nearly ready for her baptism. One last thing was required. We all had to renew our baptismal vows. We reject Satan, his works and all his empty promises. Then we acknowledge belief in God and the Church. Then, Father Massie asks one last time "Is it your will that Leona should be baptised in the faith of the Church, which we have all professed with you?" to which we and the godparents replied: it is.

"Leona Marie Preece, I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Leona is now a Christian. We recognise her new status as priest, prophet and king by anointing the crown of her head with the oil of chrism.

The whole priest, prophet and king thing is worth noting. All baptised Christians have been anointed in this way (even if they were never physically anointed the oil). We are all priests whenever we serve God, we are all prophets whenever we speak the truth and we are all kings because God has given us power all some part of the world (in Leona's case this is the number of hours sleep she grants her parents).

Interlude: At this point it might be nice to mention that the dress Leona was wearing is the same dress that Ella wore for her own baptism.

Next, remember 'clothed yourselves with Christ' (above). Sacramentally (symbols allowing us to see actual spiritual realities) this is done with a white shawl.

Interlude: At this point it might be nice to mention that the shawl Leona was wearing is the same shawl that James wore for his own baptism.

Next, the paschal candle. Father Massie lit the candle (which is not what it says in the book).

What is supposed to happen is Father Massie holds the Paschal Candle (which he didn't) and says "Receive the light of Christ" (which he did). Then one of the parents/godparents lights Leona's candle from the paschal candle. Father Massie lit the candle and handed it to Katy for safekeeping.

Fortunately Father Massie redeemed himself by doing the part of the rite the book says is 'usually omitted in England and Wales'. The prayers over the ears and mouth:

The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father

In conclusion, Father Massie looked to the future...

...this child has been reborn in baptism. She is now called the child of God, for indeed she is. In confirmation she will receive the fullness of God's Spirit. In holy communion she will share the banquet of Christ's sacrifice, calling God her Father in the midst of the Church. In the name of this child, in the spirit of our common sonship, let us pray together in the words our Lord has given us...

So it was that we concluded with the Our Father, praying 'in the name of this child'. Father Massie finished by blessing Ella and myself and then us all.

In conclusion we sang 'Be thou my vision' because, well, we like it. After the hymn, Father Massie said it was a good time for photos (and it was).

From left to right: Ryan, Katy, Ella, Leona, James, Michelle, Mark. That's right. Leona had four godparents, you can do that, so we did. Why cut corners?

After the service we headed over to the Church hall for a buffet. There is a tradition where you keep the top layer of the wedding cake and then re-ice it for the baptism. This is what we did.

The cake is highly symbolic with a Celtic cross (including ring representing eternity), a dove (holy spirit), a font, twelve icing flowers (twelve apostles) and Leona's name because it is Leona's cake. Ella iced that cake all by herself to my design. In true buffet style by the time we thought to cut the cake nearly everyone had gone home!

It was great to see all the fambly. When we get a car sorted we really need to start visiting people. We havent seen too many people for too long and we barely got to speak to most of them today.

A secret wedding, a funeral (where she had to be changed on the church floor!), a car breakdown, 1970 rite latin mass... the list goes on and on. Leona has been through a lot.

She's been dressing up in the Tigger outfit her dad just had to buy...

She's been helping her mummy to defeat Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess...

She's been making friends with all manner of tiny stuffed animals...

But it's not all fun and games, oh no, she's had some serious growing to do (that's the same baby grow she's wearing)...

Happy Three Month Birthday Leona!

Five weeks old today. How time flies. She now weighs 8bs and she has a name. The full name is Leona Marie Preece.

Why? Primarily for Leo XIII and his encyclicals. Also for Leo the Great, who, being great was able to talk Attila the Hun out of burning down Rome. He has an Altar in St. Peter's with cool warrior angels that we liked when we were in Rome. Finally, for the whole science/religion mix you get Leonardo da Vinci who wrote things like "There is no object so large but that at a great distance from the eye it does not appear smaller than a smaller object near."

We met her when she came out of Ella's tum,
She's got a little pink face and a little pink bum,
Leona. LE-O-N-A Leona. La La La Leona.

Sleepless nights are not a myth.