We went to the circus last night with the kids and some friends. I love the circus. There’s something ancient and earthy and common about it. It’s more high tech now, but it’s still the same entertainment that has been around since Roman times: acrobats, lovely ladies, brave men, wild beasts, magicians, clowns, spangly costumes, special effects, lights and music. What could be more fun that seeing two pretty ladies being shot out of a cannon and flying across the... Read more

In the Catholic Church you find what is best from every other religion and denomination. It is syncretistic in practice without being syncretistic in dogma. Do you like the austere asceticism and counter cultural life of the Mennonites and Amish with their odd clothes, old fashioned lifestyle and prophetic and pastoral way of life? We got monks. Do you find Hinduism intriguing and fun with its flowers and candles and statues and temples and little festivals and offerings and devotionals?... Read more

I love the fact that the Catholic Church is both universal and local, and you can see both. The HQ is there in Rome at exactly the place where St Peter was crucified upside down and buried, and just a short distance from St Paul’s burial place. It is there down through history, solid and secure, but it is also down the road at St. Agatha’s. It’s in the little thatched hut in Africa, the medieval cathedral, and the American... Read more

I love obscure traditions. Today is St Blaise day and we will Bless Throats with crossed candles. Now I’ve been to church on St Blaise day before and had my throat blessed, but didn’t understand the significance of blessed candles or the point of the blessing. Nobody really explains these things. Neither did they explain whether the candles should be lit or not. (They’re not) I was a bit worried lest a set some girl’s long hair on fire… When... Read more

The Presentation of Christ has always seemed to me a minor feast, a hidden little gem if you like. Isn’t that in keeping with the mystery itself? The Jews, and everyone else for that matter, want their Messiah to come sweeping in on clouds of glory. Corinthian pillars, sweeping searchlights, the sound of trumpets and riding on a white horse.  Behold the Lord will come to his temple, but look how he comes: just another peasant with his wife and... Read more

Priest Fashion Show – The most popular videos are a click away Now why was it I decided to leave the Church of England?  B/T to Mark Shea Read more

Prepare your bridal chamber, O Sion, to receive Christ the King: welcome with love Mary, the gate of heaven, for it is she who brings you the King of light and glory. There stands the Virgin, holding in her arms the Son begotten before the morning star, and Simeon, taking him into his arms, proclaims to all the nations that he is the Lord of life and death, and the savior of the world. Read more

OK, Here goes a whimsical series about what I love about the Catholic Church. Some posts will be one liners. Others long winded. Some serious, others not so. They’re in no particular order, either logically or of priority of importance. I hope you enjoy them. Why not tell others to tune in? I’m trying to boost my readership… I love the Catholic Church because it is for brainy, sophisticated, cultured, artistic people and it is also for those who are... Read more

I guess I should apologize for my post on TAC, FCA, GAFCON and whatever other Anglican Acronyms are out there. It seems that TAC is not totally AngloCatholic in structure, but has a rump of more low church conservative members. Similarly, FCA (the global fellowship that has come from GAFCON) is not uniformly Evangelical and anti-Anglo Catholic. Indeed there are some AngloCatholic members of FCA. In addition to this, while some of the Anglican breakaway churches are uniformly Protestant or... Read more

Wow! Have you seen the apology that Bishop Williamson has written to the Vatican? Fr Z has it here. Read more