What have I discovered?

This was originally published on my old blog, Rebel Catholic that recorded my adventures doing a nun run in 2013. I’m republishing it here in honour of the third anniversary since I returned home and the beginning of life in the married vocation I am called to.

Part 21: What have I discovered?

Originally Published: Sunday October 27th, 2013

So its about time I wrote a bit more about what happened over the last couple of weeks. I had an awesome time in Steubenville, unwinding, watching TV, hanging out with mates. Oh how I missed the company of menfolk! I literally spent two weeks with women. Which was wonderful but I have never been that long without the company of boys in my life.

All that aside, I spent a lot of time in prayer. No? You don’t say? Yeah, yeah I know… stating the obvious right? On Wednesday I was having a bit of a hard time. I was frustrated and anxious with this whole thing. I just wanted a damn answer! Is that too much to ask? So anyway… around rolled 5pm and it was time for Holy Hour so I went and I threw it (none too gently) at Jesus.

Oh Ma Gawd I’m in Bawston!

This was originally published on my old blog, Rebel Catholic that recorded my adventures doing a nun run in 2013. I’m republishing it here in honour of the third anniversary since I returned home and the beginning of life in the married vocation I am called to. 

Part 14: Oh Ma Gawd I’m in Bawston!

Originally Published: Wednesday August 14th, 2013

*As a note for the future; I will try and post things week by week now instead of everyday. Much more achievable on my part!

Now I arrive in Boston reasonably refreshed having napped in the Miami airport and my God was I greatful for a Daddy who loves me and was willing to go halvsies on a nice hotel. I had a bed and a working shower and I had to be shocked out of half-arseing Portugese too but it was glorious!

I wake up feeling on top of the world and head out to explore. Boston is just simply beautiful!

Every little corner hides something beautiful. Its a place that has seen many people and has a real sense of its history and its place in it. And this evening I am introduced to Barbara, the most beautifully hospitable person I have met (barring my Mardi). We had dinner in the North End, which is the home of the Italian migrant community that dates back to the 1850s.

I had spent plenty of that week exploring the north end on foot. There was an Italian feast on at the same time and it was awesome. Barbra and I went in one afternoon after a pedicab tour of the South End given by her hilarious son Christian. Barbara also introduced me to baseball and the Red Sox. She managed to get us last minute tickets in seriously awesome seats. We were so close we could practically spit on the players!

 

Barbara and I had some lovely adventures and talks. We also went to the beautiful coast on Maine with her 20 year old granddaughter Amanda. It was fantastic day with lobster (very reasonably priced lobster) sorbet and candy!

The coastal walk that we did in Ogunquit (yes that is it’s name) was lined with primroses just growing wild. The scent was just heady, with the salt and this sweet and slightly musky perfume from these happily blooming roses!

So In summary, my week in Boston. It was a wonderful time of rest and recuperation from the hecticness of WYD. But the best thing about it was Barbara. She showed me such hospitality and looked after me as well as if I was family. I know Americans are hospitable, but she blew me away! To give you some context, Barbara’s husband of fifty years passed away three months ago and in the midst of her having to deal with the grief she just gave with such generosity! I want to be like her when I grow up!

I had many little adventures which are too numerous to catalogue here, but the overwhelming sense of my time in Boston has been one of profound gratitude. Just when I thought God was done with the surprises, I am surprised yet again! Surprised by the generosity of complete strangers and the beauty of everything around me. This ‘little’ church became my friend in Boston.

St Leonard’s was the first Catholic Church in New England built by the Italian migrant community in 1873. It is was a great quite place just off the main road in the North End. I spent quite a bit of time there and it was a really good time for me to reflect on what had been happening over the last three weeks, to be thankful and to gather the memories.

But finally of all an apology! Now that I am finally on my way to being settled, I will get much more regular with these blog posts.

I finish with a massive Thank you to Barbara for her hospitality and generosity! (She is also going to hate me if she sees this photo… Well I promise I will replace it as soon as I am able to get a better photo! (If it helps, I’m not looking all that crash hot either)). I am definitely returning to Boston as soon as I am able. Thank you Barbara for making my experience of this beautiful city so unique and joyful! Love ya lots!

Via Crucis

This was originally published on my old blog, Rebel Catholic that recorded my adventures doing a nun run in 2013. I’m republishing it here in honour of the third anniversary since I returned home and the beginning of life in the married vocation I am called to. 

Part 10 : Via Crucis

Originally Published: Monday 5th August, 2013

Today’s agenda is Catechesis at Samba City and then Stations of the Cross on where else but Copacabana beach!

It was a beautiful day and not too hot or too cold.

So today’s theme was Mission and we had Bish Mark Coleridge. He was pretty good. Napier was still my favourite. So then we got lunch there and made an attack plan of gettin to Copa without being squished. Doug had to go back to Aussie Central to grab something so I kept him company. Everyone was going to try and get the metro which neither of us fancied so we decided to check out the 9 km walk and were treated to this!

We also discovered a McCafe and discovered that the Brazillian idea of a cappuccino is a giant mocha.

We got there about half an hour before Pope Francis was due to arrive and they had completely blocked off the crossing to the beach. So we walked an extra 1 and a half km down the main drag, found a Benedictine in a tree and caught a glimpse of Pope Francis through the crowd and then got across to the sand.

The group had secured the same spot we had on Tuesday so we found our way there and waited for everything to begin.

The stations were quite interesting modern mixture of live reenactment, posing and freeze framing and sets and statues. Not sure it worked but it was a bit more exciting than Madrid’s which was a bunch of statues. Afterwards, Matt Maher was playing so a bunch of us headed into the mosh. Doug and I got uncomfortable so we went back to join Natty Sarah and the Prasard and Josh’s dance party at the back.

The stage however, looked really cool and the set up was really pro.

The concert however, was cut short but anti-government protestors again. Theses dudes were more troublesome and were all masked in Guy Fawkes masks.

So we went to dinner and headed home to get ready for the big walk tomorrow and the overnight vigil.

Viva il Papa

Part 9: Viva il Papa!

So it was Catechesis again in the morning and we all headed out to pick up breakfast which wasn’t a bad breakfast.

Albeit, the processed cheese and toast was starting to get to me. We had Cardinal Dolan from New York today speaking on the theme of Discipleship. He was good, kept us awake and moving on a cold paved ground. He had 7 steps to discipleship which were good to hear once again. The rain was finally clearing and today the Pope was arriving on Copacabana. However there were a few transportation issues getting there so, the padres decided to brave the crowds and most of the rest of us decided to go and visit this apparently spectacular Benedictine Monastery down the road from us. Well we weren’t disappointed! In the middle of the bustling CBD was this magnificent oasis.

It is a Baroque/Rococo Church that would rival anything in Europe tucked in the middle of skyscrapers. I spent a good 20 minutes in there just sitting. Everything is carved wood to incredible skill  and covered in gold leaf.

Sarah, Natty, Doug, Kathryn and I then went for a wander to track down food. It was a little trickier because it was a public holiday. I ended up ticking off one thing on my list which was to eat Churrasco! It was good.

We then decided to tick of another thing which was try a bus ride down to Copacabana and see if anything was still going on. So it was about 10 minutes of craziness before we hit dead traffic. They closed the main drag to Copacabana and so we eventually jumped off and walked down and straight into an antigovernment rally. We got out pretty quickly and ended up on the beach to the last of the pilgrims trickling out. So we grabbed a beer and headed home in cabs.

It was then bed time and Kathryn and Mel showed us this brochure they picked up from some nuns at the Vocations Centre which was the most hilarious translation I had ever heard. I will have to get it off them to get some quotes.

Friday was a big day coming, Stations of the Cross with the Pope!

God in the Dodgy Pier

This was originally published on my old blog, Rebel Catholic that recorded my adventures doing a nun run in 2013. I’m republishing it here in honour of the third anniversary since I returned home and the beginning of life in the married vocation I am called to. 

Part 8: God in the Dodgy Pier

Originally Published: Monday 5th August, 2013

It’s Wednesday and the first day of our Catechesis with an unknown Bishop/Cardinal. We had learned from the efforts of Doug, Sarah and Natalie that our Catechesis site was not in the ritziest part of Rio de Janeiro.

So we ventured out, it took us half an hour and Natty getting a little disoriented before arriving at Samba City. Did I mention it had been raining? Yes, raining non-stop since tuesday and the streets which are half construction site and half moldering port and partially underwater.

We arrived at Samba City to a deserted carnival-like atmosphere. Turns out this is where the store, build and rehearse all the carnival floats.

Our mystery speaker turned out to be Cardinal Napier from South Africa. He was a Francisican and just beautiful! The theme was hope and he spoke really well to it. He cracked a few jokes about a Jesuit pope out Franciscan-ing the Franciscans. He spoke about how critical hope is to us as human beings but also to being people of faith and discipleship.

It was then Aussie Gathering time and I had to race over to Vivo Rio with Jake Ryan (our Musician) because I had a reading part. It wasn’t too bad. Just a bit of a rally with a prayer service. I apparently read very well. I also ran into a bunch of the Liverpool guys.

A bunch of people were heading out to the Vocations centre and then find a place to go dancing. I decided to head back home because the week was catching up with me. I ended up heading to the hotel to do some internet stuff and had a sandwich there. It was then bedtime and the Pope was being welcomed tomorrow!

Attention all Catholic Booze-lovers: Drinking With The Saints has a competition!

We are pleased to announce our first-ever Giveaway. Here’s how it works: At the request of my publisher and readers, I am currently writing a sequel to Drinking with the Saints. The new book, entitled Drinking with Your Patron Saint, will offer a wide array of drink suggestions for celebrating the holy patrons and patronesses of places, things, […]

via Pick a Patron for Our New Book and Win a Prize! — Drinking With The Saints

You’re welcome!

Literary Rant #1

***Contains Spoilers***

Curious Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have been doing a radio show on literature with Cradio for nearly two years now. Given this is our 50th Episode Special (kind of, not really planned…), it is about time I actually wrote something about the books, poems and short stories we’ve been reading. I might even revisit books I’ve already read in this series and also throw in books that I’ve been reading for fun too.

So first one… a classic horror story from the author of Treasure Island fame. Most people think they know this classic story: it’s obviously the Victorian precursor to the Incredible Hulk (as portrayed, for example, in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen aka, the Victorian Avengers with Sean Connery).

Yeeahhh… no. It’s really not. It is actually far more complex and far more interesting than modern pop culture references give it credit for.

Millennial Catholic Problems: Ash Wednesday

Yes it is here! Quick! Is there anything else I can give up apart from chocolate that won’t kill me slowly, like coffee??

I went to Mass at 7am and got ashed and then walked to work and had all of the double takes, looks and gestures which inspired me to write this list. This is just a starting point so feel free to tell me what other problems you’ve had on Ash Wednesday.

An Idiot’s Attempt to Make Sense of Laudato Si’: Take 2

So it has been a long time coming this Part 2, mainly because of the crazy semester I’ve had. It is now nearly over, and I have some headspace to write for fun now! Now… where were we? Ah yes! The second part of the podcast is available here or you can go read the document yourself. It’s still free on the Vatican website, however you should be suitably warned…

Warning: This document has the potential to radically alter the way you see the world. Do not read unless you are prepared to ‘take the medicine’ without the sugar or complaining.

Now onwards to solving the problem that Laudato Si names: Human Beings, particularly modern human beings. Modern human beings, according to Pope Francis, have lost the point of the economic game. Making money, has become either an ends in itself or a means to mindless consumption. This mindless consumption is destroying our planet and also destroying our souls with it.

An Idiot’s Attempt to Make Sense of ‘Laudato Si’: Take One

One of the great things about doing a regular literature podcast is that you have to read the damn books, which I do with varying success (T.S. Elliot defeated me utterly…). This was a great opportunity to read the latest source of controversy, Laudato Si’: Pope Francis’ much anticipated and dreaded encyclical on care of the natural world.

Listen to the podcast here

You can access the entire text of the document for free from the Vatican Website. I should attach a caution to this document before you go toddle off to go and read it.

Warning: This document has the potential to radically alter the way you see the world. Do not read unless you are prepared to ‘take the medicine’ without the sugar or complaining.

Now that you are suitably warned, I am going to tackle this ‘Idiot’s Attempt’ a little counter intuitively by telling you what the document IS NOT about.