What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • International Day Against Homophobia

    Today is the International Day Against Homophobia.

    I’m not going to say much about it except to point towards a youtube video – one of the most articulate speeches of recent years about the topic.

    It is an unlikely person speaking in an unlikely location – a drag queen called Panti Bliss speaking at the end of of a production in the Abbey Theatre in Ireland.

    Lots of people will have seen it. If you haven’t, take a look.

    The next time you hear a straight church leader speaking about how it is not actually homophobic to take actions which work to the detriment of gay and lesbian people remember this speech. And ask who is best placed to decide what is homophobic and what isn’t.

4 responses to “Politics of Pilgrimage”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    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!

    Reply
  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Holy Water Taps
    Perhaps the water becomes holy when it is applied by the believer to the cat.

    Reply
  3. Joan Avatar
    Joan

    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.

    Reply
  4. Avatar
    Anonymous

    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.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Which psalms to sing (Andrew's Question from earlier)

    I’m indebted to Andrew for making this comment on another post. I’ve moved it here because I think it is worth discussing in its own right, rather than in the comments for something only tangentially related. Andrew says: Would it be possible to have a channel on which to write comments not specifically connected with…

  • Sermon – 100th Anniversary of St Mary's being made a Cathedral

    Here is the this morning’s sermon. Audio and visuals are on the preaching page as usual. A couple of days ago, I was away from home overnight. I was away on church business, staying in a retreat centre. I have to admit that I’d generally rather not stay in Christian premises if I can help…

  • Magnificat

    I suggested in this morning’s sermon that a spiritual practise to try this week is to take Mary’s song (the Magnificat) and to pray it through each day when eveing comes. Here is the text which can be found in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices…

  • Concert – Saturday Night

    Just a quick reminder that there is a concert on Saturday evening at St Mary’s featuring music by the choir (both adults and trebles) and friends. We are getting Vivaldi’s Gloria, the Icelandic Carol in honour of our Lady and other choral favourites. The Gloria will be the first half, and will be sung with…