Please say a "prayer for my intentions"...

There's absolutely nothing religious about this. Except perhaps being thankful to God for the gift of happiness. Which is what these videos made me. A lot.

I am somewhat lacking in computer facilities at the moment (this is being prepared on a laptop balanced precariously on the edge of my bed). My desk is in bits, as is my proper main computer (its component parts are spread all over the house) while I decorate my living room prior to installing new matching shelving and desks. This is the culmination of my project to maximise the amount of storage downstairs in the house. (Next stop, upstairs, but that's a huge project involving knocking down walls and moving plumbing. Eek!)

Well I have... And this is it. I've been to Rome twice and on both occasions I felt like I was 'coming home' - which might be thought of as odd, seeing as I barely speak a word of Italian and had to communicate with the Gelato sellers by means of gesticulation and incomprehensible 'Engtalian' - and no, I didn't do the English thing of shouting slowly in English - but I did get my feminine words mixed up with the masculine and made an ice cream seller look quizzically at me when I was referring to myself!

It's a question that's intrigued me for years. It's also been a real problem for me. There's not that much in the manner of things that I consume that I can realistically 'give up for Lent'. The common thing is to give up some favourite type of food, but I don't eat all that much and there aren't 'regular' things that I eat and particularly enjoy that I can realistically give up. For example, I could give up chocolate - but I don't eat it all that often, so it would hardly make much of an impact in my life.

A new look, recalling languid lush summer days while we shiver in the winter gloom.

Most of my friends know this about me already: I am a sci fi fan. I love most things of the genre: Star-Trek, Doctor Who, Star Wars, etc. I also really like Battlestar Galactica (both the high-camp 1970s version and the current 're-imagined' masterpiece).

And I rack up another year.

This Sunday our parish priest read out an open letter from Fr Manuel Mussallam who is the priest for the tiny Catholic community of 200 in the Holy Family parish in Gaza. The profoundly moving letter recounted the situation in Gaza under the conditions of war imposed by Israel over the last few weeks. My heart broke at this passage:

Nearly four months has gone by without a peep from me. For that I'm sorry. Life has not been easy recently, what with my father suffering a fall resulting in a broken hip and two bouts of illness for me (flu followed almost immediately afterwards by the dreaded winter vomiting bug, which knocked me off my feet for nearly three weeks) I've not really had the inclination or the time to keep up with this thing... Perhaps a New Year resolution is appropriate?!

Today is the 11th of September.

Bad news, I'm afraid.

Hurricane Gustav is approaching New Orleans. That poor city which hasn't yet recovered from Hurricane Katrina is facing the possibility of yet another natural disaster. Let us hope and pray that the levees hold and those who are left behind in the city, both residents and those who are there to protect life and property, will survive the onslaught of the approaching maelstrom.

The BBC is today reporting a leaked Home Office letter suggesting that crime will go up because of the economic downturn. It says that smuggling will increase as well as property crime - theft, burglary, etc - and violent crime. It also says that there will be increased hostility to migrants as competition for jobs increases and that there will be a tendency towards support growing for far right political parties as a result.

I just heard these words in a lovely song. Don't they describe God so
well?

A topic for meditation, I think.

Should I start chewing my nails now? It's seven days and counting until I leave for the Seminary. 

It seems to me, these days, that loyalty and obedience have flown out the window at all levels in society, often in surprising circumstances.

As a society we seem to be concentrating more and more on our own benefit and less on the effect we have on others. This is demonstrated in social activities, political activities, business behaviour and even by some people who call themselves ministers of religion - people who really ought to know better.

The culture of being responsible to a superior seems to be vanishing. All over the place bosses are vilified and ridiculed behind their backs by those who should owe them some loyalty. But then, perhaps this is just a symptom of a wider malaise...?

The Government certainly doesn't seem to promote any sense of togetherness or loyalty in our culture any more. We're being fractured and torn apart by fear and bitterness. We're encouraged to view each other with suspicion and cynicism seems to know no bounds.

I used to believe that most people prefer to be good to one another. Then I underwent a psychological evaluation (for my seminary application) and it appears that I might have been a bit naive. It now seems to me to be likely that most people are - to a greater or lesser extent - often selfish, back-biting and out for whatever they can get at the expense of whoever gets in their way. Certainly it seems that many people will habitually 'break the rules' if they know they can get away with it and if it will gain them some advantage. 

From lifting paperclips and other stationery from work (admit it, you do this don't you? A few sheets of paper won't be missed, you're OWED it aren't you?) to breaking the speed limit (I'm not harming anyone, am I?) to secretly eyeing up the girls at the pub while your wife/girlfriend is elsewhere (I can look if I want, can't I? I'm not touching after all...) most people seem to be losing their sense of honour, and frankly, their willpower seems to be lacking somewhat. It seems a bit of a cliche to harp back to the ‘good old days’ but there really was a time when personal morals were stronger.

Yes, these are often just little things and the effect can be minor, if not non-existent - at least apart from within one’s own mind. But take a look at what is going on out there in the wider world where these lackadaisical attitudes to personal morality have wider consequences...

There is a view that says that the Government of the day panders to its own constituency rather than looking out for the good of the whole country... Why? So that individual people can remain wielding the power that they love so much. Government owes loyalty to ALL the people, not SOME of them.

But where is all this culture of disloyalty coming from? Has society been led into a habit of hedonism by government policies or have authorities lost touch with their responsibilities towards society by virtue of the fact that they're formed from people who were already more or less devoid of, well, much virtue in the first place?

It's a Chicken and Egg situation, isn't it?

Perhaps people can enlighten me?

I’ve been remiss in not updating this blog for a while. 

Things have been busy here, not least with interviews and meetings and a lot of prayer. And it’s with great joy and not a little bit of apprehension that I can report that I have been accepted to test my vocation for the priesthood at St Mary’s College, Oscott (the seminary where students are sent from the Diocese of East Anglia).

Please pray for me while I prepare for this momentous change in my life!