Recession + We can't afford to pay them = Family time is now a good thing!

I had a smile to myself when i read the recent blurb coming from BT (British Telecom) in the light if encredible losses over the first quarter of over £1 billion. The answer? Read for yourself.....

the following is taken from Sky News:

BT employees have been offered the chance of 12 month holidays if they agree to huge pay cuts, the company said.

One option available to staff is taking a year off with a 75% drop in salary, in return for receiving the remainder of their wages as an up-front payment, said a spokesman.

BT, the former state telecom company, is one of the UK's largest private employers with more than 100,000 staff.

But it has been hit by the economic downturn and posted a £1.3billion loss for the first three months of the year.

A BT spokesman confirmed that staff had also been offered a one-off payment of £1,000 if they agree to go part-time.

Parents will also have the opportunity to restrict their hours to school term times to allow them to spend time with their children, he said.

"BT is known for it's progressive human resources policies with flexible working," said a BT spokesman.

"Being one of the largest employers in the UK, I think this is an extremely progressive way of managing costs during a recessions, rather than making redundancies."

_______________________________________

“The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one's word to Christ and the Church, a duty and a proof of the priest's inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.” Pope John Paul II

Everyday Catholic 't'raditions

On my way home from Mass this morning we were met by an oncoming funeral cortege where those who knew and loved the deceased followed the hearse on foot. It is not unusual in Ireland to see this wonderful display of love, but it is less likely to meet it in the urban areas of the country. On the opposite side of the road, cars slowed down as they approached the cortege and eventually stopped until the Hearse passed by. Only then did they return to motion. I was very moved by this as it reminded me of my days in Athlone where this was a regular occurance. More over than not, during a visit to Athlone we would bet met by a funeral slowly winding it way towards the Parish Church. During the ordinary time of our existance which was spent in Dublin, this was not so much a custom.

I was only too delighted to be able to slow and stop and as the hearse passed by to bless myself and utter the prayer "Eternal rest grant unto this deceased, O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon them." Simple but profound. I can only imagine that I was seen making the sign of the cross by those in the funeral cortege and just perhaps it brought one a comfort to see a sign of respect being offered by one who had no idea of who the deceased was. Such a little gesture that speaks so much. To see a line of cars come to a stop and then individually wait for the passing by was very profound indeed and revealed to me just how deep the little Catholic traditions are ingrained in the Irish psyche.

As I pulled away and gained speed, I began to think of all the little things we could be doing as Catholics that unite us to Heaven for but a brief moment in the course of a busy day and had a quick mental list made up of what I do by myself or with my wife and kids in public or at home that is exclusively a Catholic tradition. Ok so here is my list:

1. We use Holy Water regularly and have a font by the front door.

2. We say Grace before meals as a family at dinner time.

3. We pause for prayer at the striking of the Angelus, usually at 6pm.

4. We bless ourselves when passing a Catholic Church.

5. We bless ourselves when passing a graveyard and pray for the enternal rest of those interred there and for all the faithful departed.

6. We observe meatless Fridays.

7. There is an image of the Sacred Heart and a statur of Our Lady in our living room.

8. We have our annual blessed Palm branches scattered about the house over pictures and door frames.

9. We gather as a family and pray evening prayers for special occassions.

9. When in the Church we bow to the Altar and genuflect towards the Tabernacle.

10. Before we leave the Church we always visit the Altar of Our Lady and pray a Hail Mary.

Well I have to admit these are things I insist on with my kids and remind them to do regularly. I am very much aware than some may see these external manifestations as show and am always reminded of the parable of the tax collecter and the Pharisee. Then again I am reminded through the same parable, that it was God who saw the ultimate reason for the action and He knows our motivations. This is really all that matters. The love of God should always by the origin of all our tribute.

Anyway I am urging any of you who may stumble across this little meander to reconsider taking up some of our everyday Catholic traditions and practice them for the love of God. Remember that something that is repeated over 20 times becomes a habit. For other Catholic traditions visit this page.

Make a habit of showing your love for God in the little things that are exclusively ours!

_____________________________________________________________________

“The vow of celibacy is a matter of keeping one's word to Christ and the Church. a duty and a proof of the priest's inner maturity; it is the expression of his personal dignity.” Pope John Paul II

England Praises Catholic Education, Ireland Tries To Demolish It.

Ok! It's time to dish out the wonderful "Fit For Mission - Schools" documents to all involved in Catholic education here in this country. I am sick to the back teeth of the continued criticism of the Catholic Church's role in education in Ireland. There is a prevailing attitude that all religious run schools should be nationalised and made either non-denominational or muti-denominational. The big push is on for secular education for all.

Big use is being made of the Ryan Report which highlights horrific stories of every type of abuse imaginable that took place in religious run schools from the 1940's - 1980's. Our own Bishops have discussed the role of Catholic schools in Irish society in the wake of the of the report. There have been calls from politicians and in the media for the Catholic Church to be removed from the provision of primary education. There have been scandalous statements from Politicians involving trust issues about enrolling your child into Catholic schools.

There is nothing positive about Catholic education in Ireland in the news these days. Now compare that mind set with the following:

We read the following from ICN, Independent Catholic News:

The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Rt Hon Ed Balls MP, paid tribute Catholic schools at the CESEW annual Parliamentary Reception last Wednesday.

He joined headteachers, principals of Catholic sixth form colleges, diocesan officers, MPs, Peers and other friends of Catholic education to celebrate the success of so many Catholic schools and colleges in providing an excellent education for more than 800,000 children, young people and mature adults in England and Wales. Guests also expressed their thanks to Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the former Chairman of CESEW and welcomed new Chairman Bishop Malcolm McMahon.

The Secretary of State congratulated Catholic schools on “a commitment to standards but also a commitment to wellbeing, to supporting the wider cultural and spiritual and moral development of children” noting that these schools “disproportionately take children from more disadvantaged backgrounds than the average, disproportionately take children with greater ethnic diversity than the average, and consistently achieve results which are above average”.

Mr Balls also praised the contribution of Catholic schools to community cohesion and citizenship, saying that “many of our Catholic schools are at the cutting edge of promoting community cohesion and we have a lot to learn from those schools”. He went on to thank CESEW for their "strong support" noting that "We’ve learned a lot from the Catholic Church and the approach of the CES to education. I value this relationship and I look forward to working with you more in the years to come."

In his first speech as CESEW Chairman, Bishop Malcolm McMahon described his new role as “a great joy and a great challenge” and reflected on the many gifts Catholic education in particular can offer the world of education in general, saying that it was time for Catholics to “step forward”. Seeking to define the ethos that makes Catholic schools so special, Bishop Malcolm said that Catholic education can speak a “word of truth” and a “word of grace”, teaching the world to “seek goodness”.

Acting as host, MP Jim Dobbin described the reception as “a celebration of Catholic

education in all its forms, locally, nationally and internationally” expressing his hope that the Catholic education system would continue to go “from strength to strength” saying that this would be “not just for the benefit of Catholic education but for the benefit of education in total”.

Feast of the Precious Blood - July 1st

Today, the 1st of July, markes the feast of the Precious Blood of Jesus in the universal Church and here in Ireland it is also the Memoria of St Oliver Plukett. It is the beginning of the month dedicated to the Blood of Ch

rist.

Whenever I hear of this Feast I immediately think of that wonderful line in the Adoro Te written by St Thomas Aquinas where he describes Christ as the 'Pie Pelicane', the Good Pelican. This is a most inspiring image of Christ and the care He has for us His children.

One of the lovely devotions that members of Opus Dei are encouraged to practice is the recitation of the Adoro Te Devote on Thursdays in honours of the most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and it was exactly here that I, for the first time, came to understand the significance of the image of the pelican as an image of the nourishing Christ.

I can also remember that the pelican was the symbol that the Blood Transfusion Board in Ireland used to advertise its office. In fact I remember my father wearing a tiny little pin in the shape of a blood drop with a white pelican on it. I often wondered what it stood for as a young fella and only in later life did I find out. That is a tribute to this kind of symbolism. It strikes you and stirs up an interest. It does not leave you knowledgeless, but encourages you to think and wonder. It leaves a mysterious impression and this impression remains in the mind until the mystery is solved. Today, as you see, they still use the image but the image of the pelican is a little more cryptic and less obvious. At least they recognised the heritage behind the logo and respected the pride of all who have worked for and donated to the service. On their website they say that "the new design was derived from celtic symbolism and its central visual embodies the pelican within a stylised blood drop."

You know one of the things I really lament these days is the severe lack of symbolism, intellectual symbolism that was so much in use in society in earlier years and thrived in the Church right down to modern times. It is gone and replaced by a vulgar exhibitionism that leaves nothing to the imagination and never engages the intellect. It is raw and rude, cheap

and crude and leaves us bereft of imagery that both builds up the intellect and at the same time reveals a deep truth or mystery. Anyway, I digress......

Back to the image of the pelican and its connection to Christ. The Medieval Bestiary states that the legend behind the bird is that as young pelicans grow, they begin to strike their parents in the face with their beaks. Though the pelican has great love for its young, it strikes back and kills them. After three days, the mother pierces her side or her breast and lets her blood fall on the dead birds, and thus revives them. Some say it is the male pelican that kills the young and revives them with his blood.

The pelican is Christ, who humanity struck by committing sin; the pelican cutting open its own breast represents Christ's death on the cross, and the shedding of his blood to revive us. The Aberdeen Bestiary adds that the hunger of the pelican signifies that "...the life of a hermit is modelled on the pelican, in that he lives on bread but does not seek to fill his stomach; he does not live to eat but eats to live."

I suppose it is not by chance that the Memorial of the Martyrdom of one of my Communion intercessors, St Oliver Plunkett is celebrated here in Ireland today. St Plunkett was the last man to suffer martyrdom for the faith at the infamous Tyburn. He was hanged, disembowelled, and quartered; the sentence was carried out before a large crowd. Plunket was beatified by Benedict XV in 1920 and canonized by Pope Paul VI on Oct. 12, 1975.

In this the year for Priests it is maybe no harm to mention that the four men responsible for his conviction and execution were 4 renegade priests who obvioulsy had an extreme dislike of St Oliver's strenuous efforts to divorce them from their erroneous ways! Along with many things, he tackled drunkenness among the clergy, writing 'Let us remove this defect from an Irish priest, and he will be a saint'. He is also credited withthe following saying "Sagairt oir is cailis chrainn/Bhi le linn Phadraig in Eirinn" [Golden Priests and wooden chalices in Ireland, in Patrick's time." and went so far as to say that in his time they had golden chalices and wooden priests. Spoken sometime in1680.

In my mind the red martyrdom of those faithful to Christ, is a continuation of the spilling, the pouring out of the blood of Christ, which keeps the seedbed of faith most fertile and gives with it the promise of great things ahead at the time of harvest. Contemplating martyrdom gives great hope to the Christian since their blood is not poured out in vain. Let us pray for Ireland whose soil is richly fertilised with the blood of those faithful.

"Sancti Oliverus Armacanus Totius Hiberniae Primas", intercede with God that He will give Ireland good and holy priests!