Zagreb and Beyond

I have a vague memory of visiting some city in Croatia, my wife Karin tells me we visited Zagreb and at an orphanage there where a little girl took quite a shine to me and sat on my knee – or so Karin tells me.  I mention it because the city was on one of those travel programs on Public Television, but as I say my memory is vague.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is another matter; I do remember visiting Mostar, both the Moslem and Christian parts of the city which still bore the scars of the war in the Balkan states.  I recall the shelled Cathedral, the city park that had become a graveyard for people of all religions, and the shelled dwellings and churches around the city gave it an air of sadness.  In contrast are the villages of Medjugorje where a spirit and prayer and peace prevail.

We also visited Dubrovnik on the Adriatic, where clear sea water made it possible to see the fish swimming around just off the pier where the fishing boats tied up.  The city could be described as a tourist trap with a myriad of shops, and a church containing the incorrupt body of an early Christian martyr who appears to be a young man sleeping.  It is a city with a long history, but this also was not untouched by war.

If I learn anything from visiting such places it is this.  Even where the darkness of inhumanity has caused suffering, there you can find small pockets of faith that keep the light of hope burning.  In the Balkans it is unquestionably Medjugorje and the faith of the pilgrims from every corner of the world.

I should point out that the Mick no longer has the fuzz on his chin.

Check out Karin's new book:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/106915

Or visit:
http://www.thecookcompanies.com/
For the lot!

Santa Claus Exists.

Those of you who stopped believing in Santa in late childhood are in for a surprise – he’s real!

No I’m not kidding, it isn’t a leg-pull and there’s no catch.  Santa Clause, also known as St. Nicholas of BARI was Bishop of Myra in Lycia.  He was born at Parara, a city of Lycia in Asia Minor and after a pilgrimage to Egypt and Palestine he became Bishop of Myra.  During the persecution of Diocletian he was thrown into prison but was released after the accession of Constantine.  One tradition has it that he attended the Council of Nicaea in the year 325.  St. Nicholas died on 6^th December 345 or 362.  He is patron of Greece, Naples, Russia, Sicily, Lorraine, the Diocese of Liege, and numerous other cities.  He is also the patron of mariners, merchants, bakers, travelers, children, etc.

His relics are still preserved in the church of San Nicola in Bari and an oily substance known for its curative properties is said to flow from them. During his life he was known as Νικόλαος ο Θαυματουργός, Nikolaos o Thaumaturgos or Nicholas the wonder worker.  With a reputation for secret giving, such as putting coins in shoes he became the model for Santa Clause.  However, he was not a fairy tale for children but a real person and a saint for the young Church. His feast day is 6^th December, so now you know.

Karin's New Book:  The Town Gray Built

Made fun of for reading the Bible

Say anything against the Koran and you could risk causing a riot.  Yet when a man in Britain was set upon by two Asian women (Muslims) who criticized him for reading the Bible, pointed at him and spoke in their own language while laughing at him they didn’t figure on my cousin who witnessed the whole thing.  She set about the two Asian women, giving them a ‘piece of her mind’ and not holding back either.  Was she right to do so?  Damn right she was.

If Asian Muslims wish to be respected by the wider community they should in turn show respect FOR the wider community.  Respect is not something to be demanded but rather earned and this is a matter Muslims need to understand, especially in a Christian country.

The worse thing any government can do is legislate and to try and control the expression of religious belief because this places unjust restrictions on the freedom of religion which is essential to any peaceful coherence between people of different belief systems.  If people have no right or justification for making certain demands on the wider community, it ought to be understood that this is a universal concept that is not determined by belief or lack thereof.  There is simply no right.

Politicians with a scant ability for the use of reason, who suggest that this or that Church, Mosque, Temple, Faith must be subject to the rule of law (where no law is applicable in the first place) are a danger to themselves and others and would probably be better off claiming disability.  The last thing my home town needs is nut-burgers (local or in the Commons) encouraging one minority to bully the majority or make demands they’re in truth not entitled to.  The minority would be better off if they learned to live with their neighbours because the endgame is peace and not war.

The Place of Peace.

It was essentially a pilgrimage to a place in the Balkans, but it didn’t exactly feel that way to begin with.  Crossing the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was strange to say the least, the armed border guards seemed suspicious of every one and every thing and there was I with a British Passport among people with American Passports!  A side trip to Mostar kind of gave me a reminder of where we were.  I recalled seeing what appeared to be a tall building with unusual air-conditioning of what were at one time apartments.  A large hole in the side of the building, the rest of it pot marked with smaller holes, then the city park – now a graveyard with Muslim sleeping with Christian.  The Cathedral was reminiscent of photographs I had seen in my youth of Coventry Cathedral after Coventry was bombed by the German Luftwaffe during the early days of World War Two.  The driver explained that the city had been shelled from the surrounding mountains, the shells falling on churches, schools, hospitals and homes.  Near the Franciscan church was the rather unusual sight of a car embedded in the roof of a house.

This was a country of pain; a country of hate, bloodshed, and war.  Yet strangely there was one collection of villages surrounding the main village of Medjugorje (meaning the place between the mountains) that was markedly different.  This was a place of peace, a place where it was believed by many that a number of young people were receiving messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The Bishop of Mostar didn’t believe them, but other bishops did.  Priests didn’t believe them, but some did.  Catholics didn’t believe them, but some did.

Whatever people believe, they believe and that’s it.   What Karin and I experienced together was very different from what others claimed.  After all, we actually met the “Seers” or “Visionaries” (call them what you will) and we actually experienced Medjugorje which was like no place on this earth.  One day for instance, we were making our way from our lodging in Bijakovici to the Church when two ladies asked us directions to the village of Bijakovici where the visionaries lived and the hill on which the visions took place.  Nothing unusual you may think and you’d be wrong.  They were speaking Russian, I was speaking English and yet we somehow understood each other even though I have no knowledge of Russian other than “Vodka” – even when they said “Thank You!” I understood them.  Now how often does that happen?  For all I know they could have been asking for the nearest café – there were various business in that direction.

At the church the demand for confession was great, so confessional boxes had been erected outside the church with priests hearing confessions in all kinds of different languages, including English.  I was able to get confession and attend daily Mass in English, but throughout the day, every day Mass was said in different languages and each Mass was packed and lasted well over an hour because of the numbers involved.  In addition the Mass was usually concelebrated – that means more than one priest present on the altar.  Not too far from the main Parish Church of St. James, was a small chapel with constant exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and frequent Benediction.

People seemed to be praying the rosary all the time and as Catholics know, this is a meditation on the birth, death, resurrection of Christ and through the mysteries of Light introduced by Pope John Paul II on the teaching of Christ.  Essentially the rosary encourages mediation on the Gospel.  Krizevec, or Cross Mountain, has the Stations of the Cross and so also does Podbrdo or Apparition Hill.  The cross on Krizevec is actually a war memorial with no electricity.  Medjugorje is essentially a place of constant prayer that makes one wonder what the world would be like if every parish on earth followed the example of St. James Parish.  It would in effect be a benediction for the world and strangely, regardless of what one believes about the visionaries, this is within our reach.

As pilgrims have testified, Medjugorje is not just for Catholics - even Protestants have visited the place to recharge their spiritual batteries.  There is nothing to stop anyone from reading the Bible and praying how they wish, openly and with the support of all.  The critics can say what they will - no one can take away from any Catholic or Protestant who has visited Medjugorje the unique experience of a unique place of peace.

Liberal Thought

I've often heard references to 'liberals' as a group following a particular philosophy rather than a British political party (now of course Liberal Democrat).  About these latter persons I am not concerned, but what does concern me is a body of thought that appears to translate 'liberal' to 'very little' in the sense that there is very little reason applied to a particular view.  Indeed some seem to think there is none at all!

Okay, let's consider the term 'homophobic'.  Who cooked up this term I can't say, but it is normally applied to those who express opposition in one form or another to homosexual or lesbian activity.  If the term itself is neutral, then couldn't it be reversed?  What about those homosexuals or lesbians who express opposition to heterosexual activity? Oh shock, oh horror, would this happen?  Too damn right it would - and they'd call heterosexuals defending themselves 'homophobic'!

Now we see how liberal thought works - or doesn't.  Over the decades I've numbered homosexuals and lesbians among my friends because they have not been 'in my face' regarding their preferences.  What I most certainly object to is the 'in your face' attitude of the more vocal.  There's a vast difference between reason and dictatorial attitudes that do not win friends, to the contrary they win only opposition and antagonism.

But let's consider the idea of at least one British Politician who wants to compel the Roman Catholic Church to marry gays.  Sorry... not going to happen. If this idiot had any understanding of the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church he would know the following:

1. In the Catholic Church the couple marry each other through the exchange of vows.

2. The vows of Permanence, Fidelity and Children validate the marriage.

3. Marriage is a sacrament and as such cannot change.

Given that two men cannot naturally fulfill the vow of children and because the same applies to two women, also that its the couple who marry each other - not the Church, gay or lesbian marriage is physically impossible in the Catholic Church - the marriage would be invalid regardless of the law of the land.

Again, we have the notion of FORCE associated with liberal thinking regarding homosexuality, while justification does not even consider the teaching of the Catholic Church.  Is this even what homosexuals have been asking for? No.  A Catholic homosexual should be familiar with Catholic teaching and probably wouldn't ask, if he or for that matter she, was unfamiliar with Catholic teaching he or she probably wouldn't be interested anyway.

This is not just about homosexuality.  Those liberals attempting to dictate to society jump to conclusions.  For example.  In Britain a town council banned the Christmas decorations for the town center.  The reason they gave was that it may be offensive to the Muslim minority.  The complaints followed... not only from Christians, but also from Muslims who said that Christmas was a time for families and that they enjoyed it as much as Christians.  The point is, the council didn't even bother to ask the Muslims, they made an assumption that had no foundation.  A factor that seems common to liberal thinking.

I tend not to listen to liberals for this reason... there isn't any... reason that is.

More value in living flesh and in silver and gold.

My mother knew what people were saying about her in the autumn of her life, she was to some a ‘religious fanatic’ because she attended daily Mass at St. Patrick’s church in Oldham, and then she said the Rosary.  So how do I know?  Simple, she told me.

Her devotion to the Mass and the Blessed Virgin Mary was well known and perhaps she pricked the consciences of a few who didn’t even bother with attending church on Sunday.  She certainly had her faults and for one thing she was a McKenna and that’s dangerous enough for anyone who backs a McKenna into a corner.  I learned later by looking up the clan on the Internet that there’s a probability the McKenna clan is descended from ‘The O’Neil’ the High King of Ireland and they are essentially a clan of Celtic Warriors.  That explained a lot because among the Celts women were also Warriors and in my family the women can be volatile.

I should also mention that after missing him during his Dublin visit, my mother received Holy Communion from this guy during his visit to Manchester.  She also sat with the VIPs during the Mass.

I learned from a local doctor that while he and another man from St. Michael’s church were with my mother collecting signatures for a pro-life petition a group of pro-abortionist women approached, one wearing a sticker on her coat reading, “Kill, kill, kill!”  That was enough to annoy the Celtic Warrior in my mother, she rushed the pro-abortionist ripped the sticker from her coat and tried to ram it down the woman’s throat while screaming, “Eat your words, eat your words!”  The pro-abortionists bolted!

I was living at home in those days and both I and my brother Kevin were giving my mother money for the shopping etc.  Before the end of the week she would complain that she had no money, so Kevin and I agreed that he would give her something on Monday and I would give her something on Wednesday.  For a while it seemed to work, nevertheless, she was often short of money which seemed to slip through her fingers.

I was leaving St. Patrick’s church after her funeral Mass when I was approached by an elderly gentleman who said that he knew my mother from daily Mass and the Rosary which she often led.  He went on to say that one day he was talking to her and happened to mention that he didn’t know how he was going to pay his heating bill.  My mother asked him how much he needed and after he told her she gave him the money he needed.

My mother had taught me by her example to give living flesh more value than silver or gold, whether it is the unborn child or those in the autumn of their lives.  It’s a valuable lesson and one I hope I have learned well.

Karin's EBooks

Seven Doors of Time is an ebook of seven short stories. Smashwords offers a 30% free download, but this is only 30% of the entire ebook.  For the full ebook it will cost just $4.99 that's not a bad price for seven short stories and a book of some 158,349 words.

Good Old Uncle Norman, the second of Karin's ebooks is a work of some 6,890 words that has a pricetag of just $2.99.  Again this is value for money and well worth looking at. Smashwords has a free 20% download, but this is just a 20% and not the full tale.  It's a good tale with a good and somewhat funny end that those downloading the free sample will miss.

Always Have Always Will is a love story of 15,379 words and again is priced at just $2.99 and Smashwords offers a free download of 20% which gives only part of the story.  For the full story it will be necessary to purchase the ebook as is the case with the above ebooks.  This is how Smashwords works - offering a sample of an ebook to potential customers.  At least you know what you're getting - and that's the idea.

Smashwords lists the formats in which you can buy the book, or alternitavely view a sample if a sample is available in a particular format.  The above ebooks, for instance, are available in all formats which makes it easy to either buy or view a sample (if available).  Finally, you can purchase an ebook using a Credit Card, Debit Card or Paypal for the price listed.

I hope those of you who purchase the ebooks will enjoy reading them.