In the last few days there have been terrorist attacks in Maiduguri, Ankara, Istanbul, Brussels.
People from all around the world and all traditions stand in solidarity with those places under attack.
Eternal God
hear the cries of your people
as we stand in solidarity
with those under attack.
Protect the innocent,
comfort the needy,
confound the wicked.
Give strength to the rescuers,
determination to peacemakers,
courage to law-enforcers,
strength to the weary.
Amen.
Living in Ireland – at one time not too far from Knock – it always astonished me when driving through the village how those who had just visited the shrine seemed to think that it had made them invincible! They’d wander into the middle of the road and totally ignore the traffic streaming around them!
A bottle of Knock holy water in the shape of Our Lady sits behind me as I type – next to a similar one from Lourdes and a knitted Orangeman bedecked with a collarette proclaiming him a member of LOL 1, Portadown! The juxtaposition is deliberate! (I wonder if + David has one on his shelves from the "support Drumcree" shop?!)
Which leads to the question "How do holy water taps work?" – theologically, that is! What is blessed to make it holy? Is it the reservoir (but that is constantly replenished and so eventually, after being diluted for a long time, the water becomes "unholy". Is it the tap itself and the water is sanctified by passing through it?
Discuss!
Holy Water Taps
Perhaps the water becomes holy when it is applied by the believer to the cat.
Holy water and questions about pilgrimage
Hmmm, yes I can see the dilemma…I guess the female ordaindees (not a word really, apologies for my attack on the English language) are excluded – though would it be possible to construct a small al fresco altar and hold a ceremony of your own? Pilgrimage places become so because people believe something, not just the ecclesiastical hierarchy, I think? If we don’t go then it is like saying ‘ok, you have that site of devotion then’. (Yikes I sound so serious, which I am, but I really do mean my statements to come out as questions…not commands.)
As to the cat, holy water, and the believer – maybe all the water is holy and we just think we play a role in making it so? Alternatively, maybe the cat is the believer and the water is transformed through a great mysterious purr.
The Cat in Question
As for the cat in question, she is not a believer as such. Rather, she thinks that she is the only proper object of veneration.
Time to go over to New Orleans for our Mardi Gras devotions. Don’t forget the Provost’s World Famous Pancake Recipe either – available online here
We’ve got something new starting up this week at St Mary’s. On Saturday we are having the first of three Diocesan Pilgrimage Days which are going to take place during Lent. Bishop Gregor has invited members of the diocese to join him in pilgrimage to St Mary’s. We’re doing it by Regional area and this…
The scene is the till in John Lewis Department Store, Glasgow. Household Department. Mr Johnny Loulou: Good morning, Sir. How can I help you today? Self:Â Ah. Well, I wonder if it would be possible to give me a refund on something. Mr Loulou: Yes sir, what is it that you are returning? Self:Â Well,…
HM the Q was at Lambeth Palace visiting the AB of C the other day and had quite a lot to say about the church. I must admit that I found some of it quite surprising and not perhaps terribly well advised. Here at Lambeth Palace we should remind ourselves of the significant position of…
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