Mrs Wilson’s breakthrough

Pentecost is a great feast. The Church’s birthday, and ours too, in a sense. Pentecost gives us a share in the Paschal Mystery. Easter without Pentecost would not be a victory over death for us.

Here’s something to celebrate the power of the Spirit.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Spirit we may be ever truly wise and enjoy His consolations, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Teddy has an operation

Facebook spawns Internet memes almost constantly, which dominate my Facebook newsfeed for a few days, only to reappear in my e-mail inbox a few weeks later, when friends who aren’t on Facebook get in on the act. This is called a First World Problem, so I’m not going to whine about it.

Instead, today I’m going to contribute. Here’s a viral video which I particularly like. It’s already done the rounds of Facebook. I’m posting it now, before it starts hitting e-mail inboxes. It’s a little bit eerie, but also laugh out loud funny.

No sex before marriage?

Oh no! I’m falling out of the blogging habit! Doesn’t take long. Here’s something to get me back into the habit of posting. Someone sent me this on Facebook.

“Why should I save myself for marriage?”

It packs a lot in, and communicates it effectively. What do you think?

How to chill beer fast —
or, Happy Australia Day!

Australia Day is a bit of a novelty for me. In my seminary years, I often missed it because I was overseas.

Seminarians’ summers are very long, which is something any sensible person would relish! Ten week breaks in the life of a priest are unheard of. Still, even holidays can get monotonous. So I sometimes spent part of my summer holidays on missionary activity.

Only two years ago I celebrated Australia Day in Saigon, repainting an orphanage and assisting in the care of a hundred plus children. (You can tell I’m on mission because I’m reprising my bad impression of St Francis Xavier.)

This year, I celebrated Australia Day in Hamilton’s Botanic Gardens, which are uncommonly beautiful. Three St Mary’s parishioners became Australian citizens today!

In the spirit of Australia Day, I’m now broadcasting an important public service announcement. If only I’d know about this three days ago, I would not have resorted to Cascade Light when the VB proved too warm!

(Language warning: a “high-level profanity” is uttered in this video. It is gratuitous, but not particularly offensive. This is especially true since it is delivered with an Irish accent!)

ANOTHER weird counter-intuitive ad

Back in October, I commented on a weird, counter-intuitive ad which used children’s hopes and aspirations (of all things!) to sell abortion rights.

Here’s the sequel! To commemorate the fortieth anniversary of Roe vs Wade, America’s Center for Reproductive Rights has produced an ad which is even weirder.

Watch and wonder:

I kind of get what they were going for at the concept level. Kind of. But even then, someone should have seen that the idea trivialises abortion. On top of that, it plays right into a pro-life talking point. Cue Jill Stanek: Of course creepy cads love abortion.

But as bad it was at the concept level, this execution is even worse. I laughed towards the end, mistaking the ad for a parody. For a moment I expected the guy’s exaggerated muttering into his whiskey glass to culminate in him sprouting a devil’s tail and horns.

The ad has proved itself a hit, but not in the way its producers intended: it has gone viral through the pro-life community. No wonder!

Fr Barron is back

Father Robert Barron’s Catholicism project is outstanding. I used it last year to inaugurate a young adults’ group in my parish.

Catholicism could also be adapted to an intensive study course, or some sort of religious instruction programme. I certainly anticipate using it again and again in the years ahead.

Now comes news that Fr Barron has created a sort of sequel: a new DVD series entitled, Catholicism: the New Evangelisation. It was conceived, I think, in response to Pope Benedict’s call for a universal Year of Faith.

I don’t know any details, but I do know that Fr Barron is an outstanding teacher and communicator who is quite different from, but nonetheless invites comparison to, Archbishop Fulton Sheen. On that basis alone, I recommend the new Catholicism series, which I intend to acquire myself as soon as it’s available.

As an added bonus, this trailer for the series was largely filmed in Australia, and amongst many familiar faces, I recognise several readers of this blog!