" PAST " SAINT PAUL Part Two SAINT PAUL AND HIS WORLD

 

SAINT PAUL

 

 Saint Paul’s World


Saul was born between A.D. 2 and 5  in Tarsus in the Roman Province of Cilicia. It stood opposite the north coast of the island of Cyprus and the west coast of Syria. Rome then controlled almost the entire Mediterranean coast from Spain along the north coast to the eastern extremity, and then along the African coast to Numidia.

Caesar Augustus then 65-68 years old, would have been the only Emperor Saul’s parents had known. When they had been growing up stories of the conquests of Pompey Magnus in the region including, significantly for them as Jews, the conquest of Jerusalem in 63 BC, would have been commonplace.

Augustus’ rule had brought steadily increasing prosperity and order to the Empire and consequently to the lives of Saul’s parents. They were Roman citizens, the prized status of the ancient world, a status Saul inherited. How they had gained that status we do not know, but Philo of Alexandria tells us that Augustus made it possible for the Jews of Rome to become Roman citizens, so perhaps Saul’s grandparents had originally gained that status. There were many paths to citizenship, some requiring lengthy and arduous service (e.g. in the army or some public service). As orthodox Jews they could at times have faced difficulties in relation to public acts of piety to the Roman Gods, although more normally Jews benefitted from surprising concessions.

In A.D. 4 Augustus legally adopted Tiberius, the son of his wife Livia, and named him as his successor.

Historical records of the region and time are rich, not only because of Roman historians, but especially because of the writings of the Romanised Jewish prince/priest/historian Flavius Josephus (A.D. wwwwwwwwwww37  – 95? ). Stories of the recurring strife in Judea would have regularly reached the Jewish communities of the region and so would have been well known to Saul and his family. Pompey’s conquest had not brought lasting peace, but merely a new lid to the Judean political cauldron.

The Romans installed as King of Judea the infamous Herod “the Great”. Unlike the Hasmodean kings who preceded him, he did not claim the High Priesthood, to which he had no right in any case. Instead he appointed his youthful (scarcely 18) brother-in-law Aristobulus who was a member of a legitimate Jewish royal family, unlike Herod. Unhappily for Herod and also Aristobulus, the young man became exceptionally popular with the masses. He was drowned in the palace pool in Jericho. The people blamed Herod for this first of a series of murders.

Henceforth Herod appointed common priests with no right to it, to the High Priesthood. Their only qualification was docility. Herod’s briefly ruling successor Archelaus did the same.

The High Priesthood became ever more decadent – an office bought and sold – the source of violent competition between four families ranged against each other and even degenerating into stone-throwing battles. There were as many as 28 High Priests in 107 years, whereas there had been only 93 since the time of Aaron in the 13th century BC. The Jewish Talmud sums it up: “For they are High Priests, their sons are treasurers, their sons-in-law administrators and their servants beat the people with rods.” (Pesahim 57a).

Poisoned by his wife Livia, Augustus died in A.D.  14  and was succeeded by Tiberius. Saul was about ten years old. Five years later his parents sent him to Jerusalem to further his religious studies. At the feet of the great Pharisee doctor of the Jewish law, Gamaliel, a leader of the Sanhedrin, Saul studied for five years until 20 AD. During this period Gamaliel, who is well-known to history, would have been in his prime. We know that he died 32 years later. It was Gamaliel who convinced the Sanhedrin to release the apostles (after 39 strokes of the rod) when they were arrested for preaching the Word.

The Pharisees (the word comes from “parash”/”perush” – “separate”/”separatist”) had their origins around the second century BC in a group known as the “Hasidim” – pious and devout men of Israel – who opposed the then current Hellenistic tendencies and adhered strictly to the Law of God. In 167 BC they had become politically active in resisting the ruler Antiochus Epiphanes. But after the re-dedication of the Temple in 164 BC and the restoration of Jewish religious practice, they became more and more concentrated on strict religious practice. Josephus describes them as one of the three mainstreams of Jewish religious practice at the time, the others being the Sadducees and the Essenes (of Dead Sea Scroll fame).

Nevertheless, the religious rigorism of the Pharisees led them back into the political sphere around 128 BC. One of their number openly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the birth of the High Priest Hyrcanus and his right to hold office. The Pharisees closed ranks around their brother and Hyrcanus and the rulers from then on promoted the interests of the Sadducees. Despite them, popular support went increasingly with the Pharisees. So much so, that by the time of Herod “the Great” the Pharisees needed to be dealt with most carefully, even though they seem to have numbered only 5% of the population. Around 20 BC Herod required all citizens to swear an oath of loyalty to him. The 6,000 Pharisees refused but instead of being executed, they were simply fined.

In Saul’s early twenties in A.D. 26 , the new Roman Procurator Pontius Pilate took up his position. The Romans had reverted to direct rule after the death of Archelaus, Herod’s successor. As Procurator, Pilate was the Emperor Tiberius’ personal representative. When Our Lord was crucified in A.D. 30.  Saul was in his mid-twenties. Procurator Pilate’s principal roles were to collect the taxes, keep the peace and administer justice He was based at Caesarea and had at his disposal only 3,000 troops. In the event of any serious trouble he would be obliged to call on the Governor of Syria who had four legions at his disposal, including the Legio X Fretensis which would much later be transferred to Judea.

(It should be noted here that the “Pilate Stone” discovered in 1976 actually shows his title as “Prefect” but we have maintained the customary reference “Procurator”).

As always (even today) Judea was in ferment. The Roman puppet kings Herod Agrippa in Galilee, his brother Phillip in Ituraea and Lysanias in Abilene had uneasy relations with the Procurator Pilate. The High Priest Annas had been succeeded by his son-in-law Caiphas and the religious governing Council the Sanhedrin was tensely split between the parties of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. To add further to the general air of tension Pilate himself was constantly uncertain of his relations with the Emperor after Tiberius had given him only qualified support in an earlier trial of strength with the Jews which had been appealed to the Emperor.

Saul’s conversion – giving us the Apostle Paul – is generally dated around A. D.33  or A.D. 34 . He was then between 28 and 32 years old.

 

 

 Around A.D. 36  Herod Agrippa, whilst visiting Rome, was overheard venturing the opinion that it would be better if Tiberius were dead. This promptly landed him in prison. Prior to this he had been a favourite of Tiberius and a boon companion of the vilely corrupt young Caligula. Tiberius did in fact die in A.D. 37 . Caligula succeeded him and made his friend Herod Agrippa King of Judea, restoring the unity of the regions last seen under Archelaus.

Caligula, whose excesses and insanity proved too much even for decadent Rome, was murdered in A.D. 41 . Improbably he was succeeded by the lame, stuttering but shrewd and effective Emperor Claudius. When Herod Agrippa died under horrible circumstances (recounted in the Acts of the Apostles) in A.D. 44  Claudius did not replace him, but reverted to direct Roman rule of Judea by Procurators. He also reserved to himself the right to decide who should appoint the High Priests.

By this time Paul had been a Christian and an Apostle for about ten years. He had spent an extended period in Arabia and visited Damascus and Jerusalem. In Jerusalem his preaching was so powerful that his safety was feared for (Acts 9:30) and he returned to Tarsus for four or more years. But around A.D. 46 Barnabus sought Paul, asking him to come to Antioch to assist with already successful preaching of the Word there, which he did for one year, “and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians” (Acts 11.26).

In A.D. 49  – Saul was between 44 and 47 years old – Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome on account of “Chrestus”. The consensus seems to be that this is not a garbled reference to Christ or Christians on the part of the historian Suetonius as the name “Chrestus” appears to have been current at the time. The Jewish community in Rome is thought to have totalled about 40,000. Some of those expelled were, or became, Christians and had contact with Paul as in the case of Aquila and his wife Priscilla at Corinth (Acts 18.1-2).

Claudius was poisoned by his wife in A.D. 54  and succeeded by Nero. By this time Paul was on his third missionary journey and aged 49 – 52 years. In A.D. 59  when Paul was arrested, tried and appealed his case to Rome, Nero was busy arranging the murder of his reputedly vicious and manipulative mother Agrippina. The attempt degenerated into farce when she swam ashore from the boat designed to collapse and drown her. Not to be denied, her son despatched assassins who produced the desired result.

In A.D. 62  Paul was released from his Roman imprisonment and in A.D. 64  aged 59-62 years he was on further missionary journeys when Rome was destroyed by fire. The Romans blamed Nero, who for his part sought to shift the blame onto the Christians and instituted a terrible persecution.

Between A.D. 64  and A.D. 66  Paul continued preaching the Word and wrote the second Epistle to Timothy. Nero constructed his new palace the Domus Aurea (Golden House).

InA.D.  66  Paul was arrested again, imprisoned and executed by beheading. In Judea the revolt against Roman rule began. This was to lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70  under the Roman General Titus, son of the Emperor Vespasian who had succeeded in A.D. 69  after Nero committed suicide in A.D. 68 .

(The historically certain date of the destruction of Jerusalem confirms for us that St John’s Gospel was written prior to A.D. 70  for he says, “Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool …” etc (John 5.2). The ruin of the five porticoed pool was identified by archaeologists in 2007.)

The man chosen by Jesus to be named “Paul” was born into an “interesting” time. Archbishop Alban Goodier SJ says of the Nativity, “It was the fullness of time …” God’s plan for the salvation of Man began to unfold. And out of the maelstrom of war, intrigue, cruelty, murder and corruption that surrounded him, Paul, sustained by Divine Grace, responded to the call with Faith in Jesus of Nazareth the son of God, the Messiah, and never lost sight of Him.

“… it is no longer I who live,

but Christ Who lives in me …”

(Galatians 2.20)

TONY DIXON
Copyright This article first appeared in the June, 2008 issue of FOUNDATION.

" NEW " DESOLATION

Elsie Georgina Dixon

 A single red rose lay beside her head on the pillow in the ward of Lewisham Hospital where my beloved Mother died on this day 50 years ago. It somehow served to moderate that desolation that had overtaken me since the news was received.

 

A young doctor came in smartly to see my Father, my elder brother and me. I do not recall his precise words, but they conveyed the idea that we had expected my Mother's death. We had not, and we made it clear to him that nothing had been said to us to suggest that possibility. Looking back on events, I could see that we ought to have read the signs. Earlier in the evening I had visited Mum and she asked me to re-arrange the chair at her bedside, because it had been moved "when the Priest came" . At the time, i was simply pleased that a Priest had paid her a visit - but I now understood that he had been there to administer Extreme Unction. Thank God for that. I had been concerned about her heavy breathing , but felt sure that the Hospital had her care well in hand. Not long after I returned to my suburban home, my elder brother rang to say that Mum had died. I was devastated .

The young Doctor disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, offering apologies.

No one who has suffered the loss of a loved one remains unmarked by the experience. The deaths of one's parents  are particular - as if the branch one has always sat comfortably upon, has been sawn off behind us.

 

Who's feeding me?

 
It does not seem like 50 years ago. But so much has happened since. I was a young Father then, deeply and happily involved in the life of my young family, my beloved wife and first child - a bright eyed young daughter . Yet the death of my Mum struck me hard.And the effects of it remain until today , no doubt they will always remain.But, unlike in those early days, I have long since stopped thinking I saw her in a crowd somewhere, or stopped going to telephone her to tell her something ,as in the first weeks.

She was remarkable for her loving kindness - there was never an unkind word from her - though she suffered greatly from the unkind words and actions of others - often those very near to her. She was not a gregarious person , she lived a quiet life happy within the family circle.

Can it really be 50 years? (Am I THAT old?)

A song from a recent musical sums Mum up well...: "A Heart Full of Love". 

Requiescat in Pace.(There is no time in Eternity - so 50 yrs is nothing.)

 

" PAST " SAINT PAUL Part One THE MAN

 

BACKGROUND: "Set apart (by God) from the day of my birth" (Gal. 1:15)

Saul's upbringing and formation uniquely prepared him for his apostolic life. The Tradition in the early Church ( according to St. Jerome ) was that Saul's family originally came from Galilee. They moved to Tarsus in Cilicia and before Saul's birth, had acquired the prized Roman citizenship.

Paul, in later years , was insistent on the importance of three aspects of this background:

• He was a Hebrew, born of Hebrews ( that is, not just a Diaspora Israelite he belonged (Phillipians 3 : 5);
  
• "I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city", he informs the Tribune in Jerusalem ( Acts 21 : 39). The Greek historian/ geographer/ philosopher Strabo ( 63/64 B.c - A.D. 24 ) says of Tarsus : " ....there was much zeal for philosophy and all other aspects of education generally among the inhabitants so that in this respect they surpassed even Alexandria, Athens and any other place ( Geog. 14. 5. 13 )." This pagan source backs up Paul's claim.
• "Tell me are you a Roman Citizen? And he said, " Yes....But I was born a citizen ." Paul insists on his rights as a Roman Citizen Again, he belonged. ( Emphasis added.)

 The decision of his devout Pharisaic Jewish family to send him at age 15 yrs to Jerusalem to be educated in the Law by the great Gamaliel, only enhanced the weight of his birth claim as a Hebrew. In stressing the importance of Tarsus he is reminding the Tribune that he is not just some yokel. When asserting his Roman citizenship he is asserting his standing, protecting his life and mission from the venom of the Jews and setting up the possibility of reaching Rome in due course when he appeals to Caesar.

EDUCATION

Not much is known of Saul's early education in the stimulating intellectual environment of Tarsus. We know enough of Pharisees and the practice of devout Jews, steeping their children in detailed study of the Law and scriptures. We also know that Saul spoke Greek well. When he first addresses the Tribune, the immediate surprised response is : " Do you know Greek?" ( Acts 21 : 37)

Among the Jews and most Middle Eastern peoples at that time, Aramaic was the everyday language. Paul also spoke Hebrew, the classical language of the rabbinical scholars. His use of it ( Acts 22 : 2 ) wins some respect from the Jewish mob that brought him before the Tribune. Further, Jesus speaks to him in Hebrew on the Damascus road ( Acts 26 : 14 ).

Paul's writing does not use the classical Attic Greek but Koine, the language of the ordinary people, not only in Greece but in the various international communities around the Mediterranean world. He makes several references, quoted in epigrams, to Greek literature in his writing :
1 Cor. 15 : 33 - Menander, Thais 218
Acts 17 : 28    - Epimenides : Aratus
Titus  2 : 12    - Epimenides

But as likely as not, these epigrams were in common use and not necessarily evidence of classical Greek education. We know from his own remarks that Paul sustained himself by his work as a tentmaker , so that he would be no burden on those to whom he preached. It seems at least possible that he acquired this trade during his time in Arabia where it would have been commonly needed and practised, and where he needed physical sustenance.

PRESENCE

Surprisingly in the New Testament context, where silence about the appearance of those mentioned is the norm, we know a good deal about St. Paul's appearance and manner. The lack of charity on the part of his critics gives us a dramatic picture, either directly or through Paul's responses :

2 Cor. 10 : 10   "...but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account"
Gal. 4 : 13-14    " You know that it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first; and though my condition was a trial to you ...."
2 Cor. 10 : 1      " I who am humble when face to face with you..."
1 Cor.   1: 17     " Christ...(sent)...me..to preach the Gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom  " (Knox translation : ..""not with an orator's cleverness").
1 Cor. 2: 1         " ...I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom" ( Knox Translation : "...without any high pretensions to eloquence or philosophy".)

Yet surely we know even more about his presence from its results. He founds and fosters burgeoning local churches around the Middle East. He has a host of dedicated disciples around the region seeking his return visits. He is treated like a son by the mother of Rufus (Romans 16 :13 ) son of Simon of Cyrene ( Mark 15 : 21 ).

He is treated with reasonable regard by the Roman Tribune in Jerusalem, by the Procurator Felix and by his successor Porcius Festus, by King Agrippa who has to resort to feeble humour to evade Paul's effort to convert him, and by the Roman Centurion Julius who is to conduct him to Rome for trial. And, under house arrest in Rome he makes converts even " in the Emperor's household" - no doubt some of the Emperor's Praetorian Guard, members of which guarded Paul in his house pending Caesar's decision.

These two sets of facts seem at odds. But perhaps the apocryphal "Acts of Paul and Thecla" can offer a solution. It contains the description : "....and he saw Paul coming, a man of little stature, thin haired upon the head, crooked in the legs, with eyebrows joining, and nose somewhat hooked, full of grace: for sometimes he appeared like a man, and sometimes he had the face of an angel." ( Emphasis added.)

The intense criticism of Paul comes from the Corinthians. Corinth, with its rich sea port was the largest city in Greece. It had been devastated in 146 B.C. when the Romans under Lucius Mummius sacked it, put all the men to the sword and sold the women and children into slavery. More recently it had been re-settled by Julius Caesar with freedmen from Rome. The new Corinth became famous for its wealth and luxury and the immoral and vicious habits of its people.

Paul's first visit in A.D. 51/52 lasted 18 months when Gallio, the brother of Seneca, was Pro-Consul.

It is clear that the citizens of worldly, wealthy Corinth tended to backslide when Paul had gone and became resentful of the firm teaching in Paul's letters.  The more recently arrived Apollos ( from Ephesus where Paul had asked Aquila and Priscilla to complete Apollos' Christian education) would seem to have had a classical background, and to have been an accomplished orator in the highly conventionalised style of Greek custom ( head raised, arms thus and thus and hand just so). They contrasted this with Paul's humility and sincerity and, in their worldly way, found Paul lacking.

But when we consider the list of Paul's sufferings :

" I have toiled harder, spent longer days in prison, been beaten so cruelly, so often looked death in the face. Five times the Jews scourged me, and spared me but one lash in the forty; three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned; I have been shipwrecked three times, I have spent a night and a day as a castaway at sea, danger among false brethren! I have met with toil and weariness, so often been sleepless, hungry and thirsty; so often denied myself food, gone cold and naked." ( 2 Cor. 11 : 23-27). He might well have appeared somewhat worn and       "crooked in the legs! "

Paul refers ( 2 Cor. 12 : 7 ) to a " thorn ...given me in the flesh" ( RSV Translation  - Knox Translation : " a sting to distress my outward nature.") The original Vulgate Translation from the Greek to Latin as "stimulus carnis" led to the conclusion that this was a sensual temptation. However Monsignor Ronald Cox suggests that Monsignor Ronald Knox' Translation of the passage is the better rendition of the original Greek and suggests some recurring malady, with external symptoms. In this connection, we note St. Paul's comment in Galatians (4 : 13-14 )  " you know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the Gospel to you first; and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus." This suggests some embarassing but not disabling physical condition which may have been recurring - something seriously troubling to Paul - a trial to be overcome.

As Paul says elsewhere ( 1 Cor. 9 : 27), " I buffet my own body,and make it my slave, or I, who have preached to others, may myself be rejected as worthless."

PERSONALITY

In Saul we see a privileged, hyper zealous Pharisee, better educated in his religion than most, an activist we might say - but a leader - not one to " get his hands dirty". Saul goes with the mob which is to kill St. Stephen " and was consenting to his death" (Acts 8 : 1 ) but stood back minding the clothes of those who did the murderous deed. ( Acts 7 : 58 )

In his activist leadership role Saul secures from the Chief Priests a warrant to pursue Christians, even in remote locations. Evidently his scholarly brilliance and his zeal had opened doors for him. He was no doubt well connected, being a leading pupil of Gamaliel.

But on the Damascus road he encounters Jesus Christ - the encounter is overwhelmingly transforming. After his consequent blindness is lifted by Ananias in the house in Straight Street, Damascus, and he is Baptised, he is no longer the " clean hands" activist leader - no longer obsessed by the Law, but driven by the love of Jesus Christ and His commission to preach the Gospel to the World. 

So dramatic is the transformation, that 2,000 years later a " Damascus road experience " is still a common metaphor.

So powerful, so pervasive was this direct revelation by Christ that Paul, after his Baptism went off to "Arabia " for several years. He tells us nothing of what he did there. We hear relatively little of Arabia in the writings of the time. It lay to the East and the South of Judea constituting what is to-day Jordan and Saudi Arabia : largely desert. The region was at the time controlled by the Himyarites, a people who could not be subdued even by a 10,000 strong Roman Army under Aelius Gallus, despatched from Egypt by Augustus in 24 B.C.

We can only conclude that Paul spent his time in these desert lands in prayer, fasting and meditation on the profound Revelation he had received.

It was a transformed Paul who emerged onto the active mission field. He is right in the midst of the work. No more the elite zealot. He is personally involved in winning souls for Christ. Through the pages of the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's Epistles, we see a new man - marvellously matured, loving, vigorous, adventurous, brave, bold in preaching and extraordinarily learned in Sacred Scripture and in theological understanding.

Mentally, Paul is as sharp as a tack. His sometimes lengthy but always relevant expositions of the history of the Jewish people and religion are brilliant. Even more remarkable is his quick thinking under pressure. Dragged before the Chief Priests and under great threat, he nimbly diverts the whole proceedings by claiming he is being persecuted because he is a Pharisee and believes in life after death. He well knows the Pharisee vs Sadducee divisions among the priests, who then turn on each other. In Athens, he notices the shrine to "an unknown God" and wastes no time in telling the Athenians this is the One True God he is preaching. His analysis and enunciation of the consequences of the new dispensation for converted Jews is incisive and clear thinking in a situation which many found confusing and troubling. He insists that the Gentiles have no need to follow the observances of the Law and that the Jewish converts need no longer do so and must not try to impose them on Gentile converts.

His personal convictions, even in optional matters are strong. This did not always make him easy to get along with. Having concluded his first missionary journey ( according to our customary division of his travels) at Antioch, he proposes to his companion Barnabas that they should travel back the way they have come, re-visiting each of the churches. Barnabas wishes to take Mark with them, but Paul will not agree, since Mark had left their first journey when they reached Pamphylia rather than confront the rugged mountains and wild tracks of Galatia. Their disagreement was so sharp that  Barnabas returned to his native Cyprus with Mark. Paul went on as he had intended, with Silas. Interestingly, Paul later revised his view of Mark who was with him during his imprisonments in Rome. Barnabas remained in Cyprus for the rest of his life, becoming known as the Apostle of Cyprus.

Paul retains his human characteristics. Somehow the apocryphal " eyebrows joining" ring true. For in popular belief they are a sign of a fiery temper. Paul certainly shows signs of that. Though, as the years go by it is moderated under the influence of grace and love. And, in his writing, we are often taken along verbally as he warms to a topic, and in one or two notable examples most translations demurely modify or, shall we say, re-phrase some of his more excitable utterances.

But, through it all,we come to love Paul who spends himself totally for the love of Jesus Christ and His Church. It is easy to visualise Paul - this smallish man, of somewhat worn appearance, betrayed only by his eyes. Eyes that are aglow with the light of the fire that burns in his spirit and heart. As we read his words, his charismatic presence inspires us, his unflagging drive and boldness in bringing Christ to us opens our hearts and souls to the movement of the Holy Spirit as Paul continues to preach the Word made Flesh.

TONY DIXON
Copyright This article first appeared in the July 2008 Issue of FOUNDATION.



a

" PAST " BEHOLD! JESUS CHRIST! THE GREAT QUESTION OF THE WORLD

 

LEVANTES OCULOS SUOS, NEMINEM VIDERUNT NISI SOLUM IESUM
(from the Gospel for the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ Matthew xvii : 8 :-
         And they, lifting up their eyes, saw no-one, but only Jesus.

"Vice is so incompatible with the Christian faith, that that faith grows weak and languishes in those who will no longer combat their passions....Neither the Muslim nor the heathen need to apostasise in order to be calm in the ignominy of their senses : the Christian alone has a God who forces him to blush.

And yet, this God became man, He bore a flesh like our own; He was similar in His body to the idols of the nations, and, differing from all who had preceded Him, and from all who should follow Him, He has exercised upon Earth a regenerating power. In Him as their source, in His form as their centre, are reflected all the characters that have made Christianity an incomparable monument. Lift up your eyes now: behold Jesus Christ!

Who among you will blaspheme against Him without a certain fear that you may err? On emerging from infancy, perhaps, at an age when the eyes measure nothing, you may pass before Him without halting or bowing your head; but wait a little.

The shadows of life will increase behind you; you will know man, and returning from man to Christ with regards more humble, because they will have seen more, you will begin to discover in that face signs which will trouble you. A day will come when you will say to yourselves : Is God really there? Whatever may be the answer, your conscience will have asked the question. And what a question! What a man must he be who constrains another man to propose to himself the question of his divinity!

And even if you should not feel the foreboding of that doubt, think that for eighteen centuries it has moved and divided mankind. Now, more than ever, it is the great question of the world. Behind the political quarrels which resound so loudly, there is another which is the true and the last one: it is whether the nations civilized by Christianity will abandon the principle which has made them what they are, whether they will reach the point of apostasy, and what will be their lot. To be or not to be Christian, such is the enigma of the modern world.

And, however you may solve it in your minds, it exists, and I leave it there. It exists, Jesus Christ reigns by that doubt suspended over our destinies, as much as by the faith of those who have given Him their whole soul. His Divinity is the riddle of the future, as it was in the past.....

Pere  Henri- Dominique Lacordaire  - Conferences de Notre Dame de Paris (1846)

 

This text first came to our notice at the excellent RORATE CAELI BLOG, and Father Lacordaire was one of the most famous preachers of his day. He re-founded the Dominicans in France following the Revolution and its persecutions and those that followed it.When he preached the Lenten Sermons in great Notre Dame de Paris, crowds began to queue at 7.00am  for the Sermons given at 7.00 pm and the mighty Cathedral filled to overflowing! Even in 1846 there was a serious question whether he should dare wear his Dominican Habit in the Cathedral - so harsh were the Laws. He did, and no-one complained against him!
His words to-day read as if they were prophetic!

" PAST " 1945 IMPRESSED? IT KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF!

 


H.M.S. ILLUSTRIOUS 23,500 tons WW II Aircraft Carrier.



The great Graving Dock at Sydney's Garden Island Dockyard - largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

 

 

In mid -1945, H.M.S.ILLUSTRIOUS was in Sydney's Garden Island Graving Dock for repairs after being hit by two Kamikaze suicide bombers off Okinawa.(Thank you internet.) The planes had caused damage deep below the waterline after penetrating her armoured flight deck with their bomb loads. The damage must have been severe, because she had initial repairs in the Phillipines , these repairs in Sydney and then again more repairs at Rosyth when she got home to England.

My Dad  worked at the Dockyard during the War, being unfit for military service due to an eye injury sustained in Newlands Iron Foundry near Central Station where he had commenced work when he was 11 years old (those were the days!). Now, in the declining days of the War, Dad was able to take me into the Dockyard on one of his days off. I have never forgotten the sight of the biggest hole I had EVER seen with a vast Aircraft Carrier sitting high and dry within it!

There are not too many details you recall from age 5, but the name ÏLLUSTRIOUS"was seared on my memory by that truly awesome sight for this little blond haired boy. It is probably there and then that the seeds of my love of ships and the sea were planted.

" PAST " AN EVENTFUL ANNIVERSARY IS APPROACHING STEEL YOURSELF

 

 

 

On the day in question, the Nazis invaded Norway and Denmark to make their sources of iron ore secure.
 

That very day the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD carried the following item : 

"Canberra,Monday. The Federal Cabinet to-morrow will probably discuss the banning of all references in the newspapers to the departure of a certain ship from Honolulu.

The arrival and departure of the ship was broadcast by the B.B.C. short wave station, but, nevertheless, censorship authorities in Australia prohibited any reference to the vessel. When the Prime Minister Mr. Menzies, was asked to-day whether he had any comment to make, he said that Ministers would probably discuss censorship with particular reference to this question to-morrow."  

Hmmm!

In the same copy of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, English "MORRIS"cars were advertised under banner headlines crying: "Buy from those who buy from you."and "If you don't buy MORRIS at least buy British." But in the case of locomotives....

On that same day, a 19 ton single piece 43'feet long steel casting arrived in Sydney from the United States. It was the very first cast steel locomotive bed ( or frame) to be used in Australia, Historically the frames had been built up out of steel plate and riveted together. It was to be used in the construction of the new  C 38 Class Express Steam Locomotives capable of hauling heavy passenger trains over long distances at up to the maximum permitted :70 MPH.The first of the Class was the streamlined 3801 now well -advanced in a complete overhaul with a new (German it must be said) boiler!

On that same day, at around 5.00 p.m. at Nurse Bignell's Cottage "Hospital"on Nottinghill Road, Lidcombe....it happened ... and things have not been the same since.
 

We'll follow this up a little closer to the day. Steel yourself indeed!

" PAST " OFTEN USED RARELY UNDERSTOOD

 

The phrase "the Last Rites of the Catholic Church", is part of the stock in trade of the mainstream media, dragged out to prop up stories of death in a grab for dignity, before they move our attention on  - or try to - to Paris Hilton's latest adventure or perhaps the current PR stunt of some drug driven Hollywood starlet.
 

For the non-Catholic, the phrase conjures up images of sombre mystery. But perhaps too few Catholics fully understand the phrase - particularly in our modern Western society, which is averse to any reflection on death and dying, let alone the religious dimensions of these experiences.
 

Most Catholics, when pressed about the last rites would fairly readily come up with the sacrament of extreme unction, now euphemistically re-packaged as the anointing of the sick. But, why "rites?"
 

Considering the circumstances of the dying person, hovering on the brink of Eternity, the Church in her great maternal care for her dying child, draws as fully as she can on the means and powers given her by Our Divine Lord.

The last rites then, are:
 

Confession - the Sacrament of Penance - given the right disposition, the dying person's sins having been confessed are forgiven and the person is restored to full communion with Christ and His Church - completely reconciled.
 

Apostolic Pardon - Relying on Christ's Authority ( "Whatsoever you shall bind........whatsoever you shall loose upon Earth , it shall be loosed also in Heaven."), the Apostolic Pardon wipes away all of the temporal punishment due to all the sins of the dying person's life, given the proper disposition.
 

Anointing of the Sick - Extreme Unction is a Sacrament which confers grace, forgives sin, comforts the dying and, not infrequently, preserves the life of the person for a time, providing the opportunity to set to right any unfinished moral obligations before their death.
 

Profession of Faith - the dying person is given the opportunity to affirm their Faith in preparation for their meeting with Our Lord.
 

Viaticum - Food for the journey - receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion, becoming one in Him and He becoming One in the dying person, this is the perfect manner in which the faithful Catholic is made ready to complete the sojourn on Earth and enter into Eternal glory.

 

Considering the true significance of these sacred rites, it is of great concern that in some places the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is being trivialised by being administered to all comers in some churches, on the specious grounds that "we are all sick in one way or another". These occasions are either the result of appalling Clerical ignorance, idiocy or of a malicious attempt to undermine respect for the Sacrament. Whatever the reason, they should be vigorously opposed by every legitimate means.

" PAST " ENGLISH ANTI-CATHOLICISM "MEANING IT PLEASANTLY OF COURSE"

 

No, the picture above is not proof that I have "lost my marbles", nor is it a mistake. We have seen plenty of evidence of the worst kind of vicious British  anti- Catholicism in recent weeks. But there is a lesser, less spiteful kind, coming from that beefy, hale and hearty "not chaps like us ,what?"strain of English life - probably now perishing in the New Britain as modern crudity spreads and the decrepitation of the Church of England reaches galloping speed.

But here is a beautiful piece of writing by the late Patrick O'Brian in "Master and Commander". The hero Jack Aubrey has only lately received his first command as "Master and Commander"of H.M. Brig Sophie. He is chatting with his recently met Surgeon Stephen Maturin an educated Irishman, whom he likes:

 

 "Such a tedious damned morning. Each watch was to have just the same proportion of skilled hands in the various stations, and so on. Endless discussion. And, said he hitching himself a little closer to Stephen's ear, "I blundered into one of those unhappy gaffes..... I picked up the list and read off Flaherty, Lynch, Sullivan, Michael Kelly, Joseph Kelly, Sheridan and Aloysius Burke - those chaps that took the bounty at Liverpool - and I said "More of these damned Irish Papists; at this rate half the starboard watch will be made up of them, and we shall not be able to get by for beads"- meaning it pleasantly, you know. 

But then I noticed a damned frozen kind of chill and I said to myself "Why Jack, you damned fool, Dillon is from Ireland and he takes it as a national reflexion."Whereas I had not meant anything so illiberal as a national reflexion, of course; only that I hated Papists. So I tried to put it right by a few well-turned flings against the Pope; but perhaps they were not as clever as I thought for they did not seem to answer."

"And you hate Papists, so? asked Stephen.

"Oh yes: and I hate paper work. But the Papists are a very wicked crew too, you know, with confession and all that"said Jack. "And they tried to blow up Parliament. Lord, how we used to keep up the Fifth of November. One of my very best friends - you would not believe how kind - was so upset when her mother married one that she took to mathematics and Hebrew directly - aleph, beth - though she was the prettiest girl for miles around - taught me navigation - splendid headpiece, bless her. She told me quantities of things about the Papists : I forget it all now, but they are certainly a very wicked crew. There is no trusting them. Look at the rebellion they have just had."

"But my dear sir, the United Irishmen were primarily Protestants - their leaders were Protestants. Wolfe Tone, and Napper Tandy were Protestants.The Emmetts, the O'Connors, Simon Butler, Hamilton Rowan, Lord Edward Fitzgerald were Protestants. And the whole idea of the club was to unite Protestant and Catholic and Presbyterian Irishmen. The Protestants it was who took the initiative."

"Oh? Well, I don't know much about it, as you see - I thought it was the Papists. I was on the West Indies station at the time. But after a great deal of this paper work I am quite ready to hate Papists and Protestants, too, and Anabaptists and Methodies. And Jews. No - I don't give a damn. But what really vexes me is that I should have got across Dillon's hause like that; as I was saying there is nothing pleasanter than good shipmates."

Of course, Jack is yet to discover that Stephen to whom he is speaking, is himself a Catholic! The Aubrey/ Maturin series of novels are brilliant on many levels and I heartily recommend them.

But the bluff, near mindless prejudice of Jack Aubrey rings wonderfully true - in fact I have personally encountered something very close to it only last year.

" PAST " ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS AUSTRALIAN ORDINARIATE

 

Usually reliable sources reveal that the Australian Ordinariate is to be in operation from the first Sunday in Advent . All arrangements are being completed , but it appears that the Australian Bishops' Conference and the TAC have reached formal agreement. Prayers for all concerned are in order.

This development may help the English and Welsh Bishops to stop dragging their heels.

" PAST " STIMULATED BY LIBRARY EXPERIENCES

 

 

Long before my time - the Western side of the Queen Victoria Markets as it was originally known, the York Street frontage looking South to the Town Hall.

 

 

Also long before my time- the Assembly Hall Building on Margaret St viewed from across York Street .The picture evidently taken from near the entrance to the present Wynyard Station..The picture is full of interesting detail, note the early 1800's residences next door.These are occupying the site where new buildings were to later receive as tenants the USIS LIBRARY and the always exotic ( in my youthful mind )PFAHLERTS HOTEL. Note also in the R.H. corner the paling fence(!) - this suggests that the "cut and cover"excavation and construction for Wynyard Station had begun ( early 1920's).

 

 

 Yesterday's post "1955 -1956 LIBRARY EXPERIENCES"stirred up a few quite varied thoughts:

THE QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING

For all of my childhood and youth, the QVB stood virtually empty, save for the City of Sydney Library and their Cellar at the Northern end and a few shops and a Cafe on the George Street frontage. Access to the interior was not available to the public.

The great building, originally the Queen Victoria Markets, had not been a commercial success and , no doubt, the Great Depression finally set the seal on that. So it stood there like a great sandstone question - "what will you do with me?". There were many answers as I was growing up - most of them not respectful.

 Like its rival Melbourne, Sydney lacked, and still lacks , a fitting civic Square ( Melbourne's recently fabricated "Federation Square" still doesn't fill the bill and is just an eyesore.) Numerous "visionaries" wanted to demolish the QVB to create a Civic Square beside the Town Hall!Fortunately the inherent good sense of Sydneysiders of the time rejected the idea, besides, the suggestion crystallised in the public mind the thought that we really liked and admired the old girl, We just needed to find a suitable use for her! Urban shopping was evolving and in due course, that evolution and the QVB's potential crossed paths.

To-day the QVB with improved access via a Tunnel to Town Hall Station and under George Street at either end of the building, has created a pulsing, vibrant shopping heart thronged by local and overseas tourists alike.It is always great fun for a wander  each time we return to Sydney for a visit. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Shop on the top level is always a favourite and on several occasions our daughter Justine has taken us to High Tea in the grand restaurant in what was originally a Ballroom on the upper level at the Northern end.

MARGARET STREET

The sandstone houses in Margaret Street in the ASSEMBLY HALL  photograph above, were typical of houses of the vintage of 1840 onwards that were still common around Sydney into my early twenties  and could still be spotted here and there in one or two places until much later, I am thinking of Castlereagh Street near Park Street for example. Earlier a very nice group on the corner of Phillip Street,King Street and Macquarie Street was demolished to make way for the ugly multi storey Courts Building.

LIBRARY IN MY POCKET?

Reflecting on those Libraries and their influence on my development, I came again to marvel at the phenomenon of the Kindle 3G E Reader which holds thousands of books in the size and weight of a small paperback, and offers the capacity to search in a particular book or across its whole library and make notes! The impact of this on my work will be brilliant, when I realise my goal and get one. How much more brilliant for a student in secondary studies  and tertiary studies. No doubt many not limited to a Retiree's means will even have the greater capacities of an I Pad! The acceleration in the rate of learning should be immense - but what of the depth of learning?Will they use the full potential of the E-Reader? Or simply skim further and faster?

Despite all the advances in technology, and the changes in the patterns of teaching, it is surprising how little many young people to-day know about history, even the modern history of our own society.And relatively few seem interested to find out.

" PAST " APOSTOLIC VISITORS FOR IRELAND NAMED.

 

The Holy Father has to-day nominated the Apostolic Visitors who will begin the Visitation of a number of Irish Dioceses in the Northern Autumn,other Dioceses will receive their Visitations in due course.

The Apostolic Visitors nominated are:
for the Metropolitan Archdioceses - Armagh - Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Ó'Connor, 

Dublin - Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley,

 Cashel and Emly - Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins of Toronto, 

and Tuam - Archbishop Terrence Thomas Prendergast of Ottawa. 

The Irish Seminaries, including the Pontifical Irish College in Rome will have as their Visitor Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. 

Apostolic Visitors have also been appointed for the visitation of male and female Religious Houses.

The announcement calls for the prayers of the entire Irish Catholic Community and looks forward to a season of rebirth for religious life in Ireland.

We need all pray for that result considering Australia's great debt to the Irish for planting and nurturing the Faith here. God bless old Ireland and deliver the Church in Ireland from the evils that have beset it, and grant it the grace , once again, for virtue to flourish in that land of saints and scholars. Amen

" PAST " WHAT ARE WE REALLY???

 

 

 

What are we ?

Better put, the question would be "Who are we?"

Unless we have a rock solid conviction about who we are, we are in dire trouble. This is especially so in the modern world, which is media massaged, continually re-making its self - image for the sake of fashion and sales or the latest ideology.Very many of our fellow citizens, completely immersed in the pop culture identify themselves by what they are inclined to do, either professionally, culturally or from an aspirations or lifestyle point of view.

As Catholics we should be the first to confidently answer both who we are and what we are. We, are children of God and members of Christ's Mystical Body the Church.

That should sum up much of our culture, our aspirations and our lifestyle. After that, comes our Nationality,citizenship, and the myriad aspects of our different beings - our unique identity.

But if we do not see ourselves fundamentally and first of all in terms of our relationship with God, we are in serious error and at serious risk.This foundational aspect of our identity needs to be inculcated in children from their earliest years. The influences of the mass media strive to inculcate an entirely different view - that self-gratification is all that matters, that there are no rules and that you are what you are inclined to do.

But seeing the truth clearly and recognising its implications, enables us to withstand, with God's grace , whatever life hurls at us. Knowing who we are, we always know where to turn, not only in the hard times, but in the ordinary times and the good times.We truly "get real "when we develop a right relationship with the God Who loves us.

In this way, we avoid the emptiness and despair so evident in the lives of those who identify themselves by the lifestyle they lead - their suicides,and drug abuse plainly reveal their "lack of invisible means of support"- the phrase coined by Archbishop Fulton Sheen when speaking of supposed "Atheists".

Too many people choose to identify themselves by what they feel inclined to do - they thus try to avoid responsibility for their actions. "I am what I am" as the song put it. But NO. Many people feel strong impulses to violence, but do not call themselves murderers or thugs. Others covet passionately the money/assets of others, but do not call themselves thieves. It is what we DO that makes us murderers or thieves or whatever. But what we are INCLINED TO DO is not what we are. We have free will and God's grace to help us use it. 

We are responsible for what we do, especially when we continue to do what we know is wrong.

" PAST " 1955-1956 LIBRARY EXPERIENCES

QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDING TODAY (Photo Dietmar Rabich)

 

 In 1955 and 1956 I went to finish my Secondary Schooling at Marist Brothers'College Darlinghurst - that will be the subject of a later post. My purpose on this occasion is to mention visits I started making to the City of Sydney Library which occupied two levels at the end of the Queen Victoria Building  shown in the photograph above. That Northern end on Market Street, across George Street from GOWINGS menswear store - famous for its location and its quirky , rather old-world stock and presentation, and its slogan "Gone to Gowings"was a landmark well into the 1990's when newer management had tried to modernise and popularise the brand. They finally failed  - things had moved on and they never did succeed in re-invention.

 The library was reached by climbing the broad stairs or riding the ancient lift cage to the first or second floor. Neither option would avoid the heavy odour of ancient wines from the City Council's Cellar in the Basement- a heavy mustiness that was not pleasant but not revolting either . It simply suggested something - in quantity - that was"off".!

The library itself was not impressive in its reception or counters , everything suggested lack of money, care or attention.The collection however was full of items of interest. I usually visited with my classmate Tony Hannon, now my longtime Brother-in Law. We shared many interests in common especially history. We got a lot of satisfaction out of copies of The Illustrated London News, which were kept tolerably up-to-date. Both older copies and more recent ones were full of interest, especially when they did major photo essays on particular events or places. I regretted its passing in later years. The library also gave access to "Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships"editions from recent times back to the First World War. These were a remarkable source of FACTS and, if you know ANYTHING about teenage males, you will know that they are very keen on facts.The opportunity to absorb all of the interesting information from this large library's extensive collections was giving us a horse and buggy equivalent of the self education the Internet now provides at home. We, or at least I, did not use the library for study purposes on many occasions. For Tony it was a twenty-five minutes bus trip home on the little blue private bus from Bathurst Street to his home. For me it was a train trip to Lidcombe, change for Berala often, then a ten minute walk home - all up about an hour and ten minutes allowing for connections.

A few years later , Tony discovered the United States Information Service Library in Margaret Street. It was rather a different experience. In a smallish very modern building just down from the Assembly Rooms which contained the Scots Church where my Mum's sister Mable had married Robert Campbell Kerr before the War ( WW II).
 

The USIS Library was the very model of modernity and efficiency and its carefully planned collection was recent and regularly up-dated with the latest books and selected magazines, all breathing  a healthy, happy optimism.By this time Tony was at University I think and I had left the Seminary ( another future post) and , due to an "accident "I was working for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
I had for a very long time been interested in steam locomotives and railways 

( this is not so much an intellectual exercise- an act of the will- no, it is in some way " in the blood "or in the spirit - a type of romantic enthusiasm defying logic. Anyway, I particularly remember a very large format new book that the library took into its collection crammed with fantastic photography on the New York Central Railroad's newest ( and as it turned out, last) mighty steam locomotives the huge 4-8-4 "NIAGARA"Class with their massive 10 Wheel (I think) Tenders. They were the very last word( too true) in post war modern locomotive design, roller bearings on every turning surface and massive boilers to the very limit of the loading gauge , mission : beat the diesels for efficiency.They did well , but it was not "mission accomplished". How I would love to have a copy of that book. A Niagara is one of my 4 locomotive model collection , which I hope my Grandsons may  appreciate in due course. 4 Locomotive models, 3 Grandsons....Hmmmm!

Sadly, in one of those periodic expansion/contraction spasms that American short-term financial reporting recurringly causes, a whole host of USIS Libraries around the world was closed in the 1960s or 70s and the poor old Aussies "who are our Allies anyway" lost their USIS Library for a few years . In a later spasm it was re-opened up in Park St in the City - I never have been there - very big on security I believe. Sometimes I think the best times are behind us all, at least in that regard

" PAST " "NOTHING COMES FROM NOTHING", NOTHING IN NATURE EVER COULD.

THE ANGELIC DOCTOR   SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS

                                                                         1225-1274

 

 "The existence of God is not self-evident. But it is unreasonable, even stupid, not to believe in God, an eternal being that had no beginning and always existed. The alternative is that there was a time when there was absolutely nothing. But that makes no sense. St. Thomas Aquinas said, "if at one time nothing was in existence, it would have been impossible for anything to have begun to exist; and thus even now nothing would be in existence--which is absurd."[12] As Julie Andrews put it in The Sound of Music, "Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could."


This extract from Charles E. Rice's Commencement Address at Christendom College , reported on the Blog Ignatius Insight, says it all . Now the reader knows why I don't believe in "Atheists" - no-one is that foolish.

As usual St. Thomas Aquinas gets it right.

" PAST " FIRST ROYAL EASTER SHOW AFTER THE WAR

 

An odd view inside the old Showground, the lofty clock tower 
of the main Grandstand can be seen in the left background.

 

 Me ( at the same age as the little boy with the beach bucket a few days ago) standing with my Dad at the Moore Park Entrance to the Showground- I had known nothing like this in my life; I had been told that we were going "to the Show", which I gathered would be good, but that was all. Now here we were being shoved through the turnstiles in these pokey little entrance gates with the rest of the crowds from the trams pushing behind.Then :

BAM! IT HIT ME LIKE A HEAVENLY REVELATION! "SHOCK", "AWE", WONDERMENT" I HAD NO TERMS OF REFERENCE : MY MIND REELED:

The ground fell away from the gates down a moderate slope, exaggerating the effect of the wonderful sights confronting me. Could this be real? So much , so pleasing and obviously all dedicated to fun - look : in the distance a huge Ferris Wheel turning, and I could hear a Merry Go Round, and there were people selling all sorts of colorful toys, rattlers, spinning coloured fans and kids everywhere eating ice creams, chocolates, hot dogs, pluto pups and real hot chips AND carrying large paper bags with string handles - in a very possessive manner! WONDERLAND!!

Dad began to instruct me in Show craft - it was neither possible nor desirable to try to see everything at once - we needed a plan of attack. The whole Showground was built around the Main Arena in effect. In the West where we had entered - this had to be the Main Entrance - were the Hordern Pavilion with all sorts of commercial exhibits and South of that was the Show Bag Pavilion. The Plan made this the last port of call before we exited to the Tram.To the East of the Showbags was a rowdy collection of garish, noisy, "rides"and freak shows and Jimmy Sharman's Boxing Troop. From there, further East and round the Eastern boundary Wall were all sorts of animal Pavilions - horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, cats, birds,by the hundred - each with their own intermingling unpleasant smells. Then around further was the Horticultural Pavilion, supplemented by a grand Merry Go Round and then along the Northern Boundary wall was the Wood Chopping. Various other odds and sods were sprinkled around the area - such as new car exhibitions and food stalls, mostly the latter were tucked in under the seating stands for the grand arena. But the two grand features of the Eastern side of the Arena were two truly huge brick Pavilions one in red brick and the other with a rendered surface marked out like stone blocks, The two of them were close together and they soared to a great height via stepped end walls and soaring steel arches supporting each roof.

In the red brick Pavilion we found a Spitfire hanging from the roof arches and a brand new and entirely novel centre aisle AIR-CONDITIONED railway carriage which was about to go into service on the "Newcastle Flyer"the crack inter-city Express.Amazing stuff! One of the key features of the 1947 Show was the British Empire Exhibition. Maybe the Spitfire was part of that - otherwise the B E Ex had no impact on me.

I don't remember what we had to eat or drink, except "Hot Tasmanian Potato Chips"excellent! It was good to know that Tasmania produced something good and useful instead of just Apples and more Apples.Tasmanian Chips were to become a ritual part of every visit to the Show for decades afterwards and I had the pleasure of introducing our three children to them in the 1970's. Sadly, in the early 1980's during some Tasmanian economy drive they ceased appearing - once again "all good things must come to an end".

In time, our day at the Show was coming to an end and Dad guided me back to the Showbag Pavilion. Wonders once again! The showbags were truly very different then and true to their original name : "Sample Bags". They always contained special small versions of the particular company's wares. The one I prized most, apart from the Hoadley's Chocolates Bag with its wonderful "Chocolate Polly Waffle"( which was still being produced until 2010!) , was the Pick Me Up Sauce Bag with about five or six miniature bottles of various sauces ( most of which I'd never tasted) I didn't care about the sauce - I was fascinated by the bottle shapes!As they clinked and clattered together, the bag proved to be a cause for friction on the way home. I think I got about 5 or 6 bags - at two shillings( one florin) and sixpence each [nominally 25 Cents] they were not expensive - as advertising they were heavily subsidised by the companíes and gaudily printed with their characteristic stylised name and colours.

So it was off home by tram to Central Station in Eddy Street,then up the ramp and stairs to the electric trains and home to Berala.

You may note that through this account I have not mentioned my Mum. I can't remember her being with us - which she was in most future years even though I believe she didn't relish the crowded experience. I believe Mum must have stayed home to avoid expected heavy crowding.

A 1947 Florin- two shillings - known as "two bob" - nominal equivalent of 20 Cents.Note the Australian Coat of Arms and the Profile of George VI "By the Grace of God"! (D.G.) King of All the Britains "Defender of the Faith"! (F.D.) (the title bestowed by the Pope on King Henry VIII for his written "Defence of the Seven Sacraments" , before he apostasised retaining the title nonetheless!)      Emperor of India.

" PAST " GET REAL!

 

PONTE VECCHIO FLORENCE

 

The young people seen above on the Ponte Vecchio in beautiful Florence were no doubt not predominantly English speakers. However to receive from English-speaking youth the withering response "Get Real! "had some currency a few years back.

 To be on the receiving end of it was a disconcerting experience, with little prospect of making an effective response. When some comforting attitude or assumption we had held was challenged as inconsistent with a reality about to be thrust before us, we experienced a rude awakening!
 

In "FOUNDATION"August 2007 there was a report on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's Responses re the words "subsists in "used by Vatican II which had given some mischief makers an opportunity to ply their trade. The Responses served to underline the truly unique standing of the Catholic Church, which is, as Dom Prosper Gueranger said over 100 years ago "God's project for the salvation of the world". 

Yet how many Catholics to-day are reduced to some form of ecumenical jelly in defending, let alone promoting the Faith.
 

Again, Our Lord Himself has told us - "Behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world ."And He is in our midst : Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament in our tabernacles in every Catholic Church. 

Do you see throngs of Catholics paying visits to His Divine Presence? Or attending daily Mass? Or do you find locked churches and Masses at hours  impossible for many - even the majority - or not even every day of the week?
Our Lord's sacred name is regularly profaned in daily speech and in the mass media. Do we His loyal believers protest? If we 25% of the population did protest IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN!
 

Perhaps we should challenge ourselves, individually and collectively : 

"GET REAL "!

 We only get one chance at life and we had better get it right!   

" PAST " WHEN DID YOU LAST HEAR HIM MENTIONED?

 

“I saw Satan fall like lightening from Heaven” (Luke 10: 18).

 Every word that came from the lips of Our Lord is priceless to us mere men. Yet we don’t often hear this text read or referred to in homilies, and if it occurs in the readings at Mass it is most often ignored in the homily. Why? Of course we don’t like to think of Satan, but our clergy have a duty to remind us of him and his works.



In the tumult, stress and distress of the post – Conciliar years, when Pope Paul VI could ,with pain ,observe that it was

 “as if, through some crack, the smoke of Satan had entered the Sanctuary of God” (Homily 29th June, 1972),

 many clergy adopted the habit of not preaching what they surmised was unpopular. It began with “Humanae Vitae “and the Church’s teaching against contraception. The media say it’s not popular, so we don’t preach it. There are Dioceses in Australia where a priest can face administrative problems if he does. The “smoke of Satan “ lingers even to the extent of not talking about Satan himself. It’s not nice. So Satan is relegated to the ad agencies and the horror movies. It suits his purposes admirably.



But Our Lord, Truth Himself, what was His practice? He was continually very open about him – HE called him the Deceiver, the Father of Lies. Consider St. John’s Gospel 8: 43-44 :

 
“Why do you not understand My speech? Because you cannot hear My word. The father from whom you are is the devil, the desires of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie he speaks from his very nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

 
Thus Our Lord spoke to a group of the Jews He knew were plotting to kill Him, but who piously insisted that they had Abraham for their Father. When did you last hear that preached?



We ignore Satan at our peril. We should not fear him inordinately – remember – God Himself is our ready defence against his wiles. With St. Patrick we can pray to the Blessed Trinity for delivery “from every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul” and KNOW that “God’s shield “will protect us. But, ignore Satan, and we won’t pray that prayer or anything like it and, when someone comes along promoting abortion whilst talking about “the need to reduce the number of abortions” we won’t want to know who is prompting him, and when some “prophet” comes along teaching millions to kill those who won’t follow his teachings, and that it’s alright to lie to advance his teachings, they won’t want to think who is prompting him and his servants. And when English heretics came along telling English Catholics that their Faith was unpatriotic, they didn’t want to think who was prompting them, and when the good intelligent German people dragged down by defeat, depression and inflation were told the Jews were responsible and were “sub-human”(üntermenschen”) they didn’t want to know who was prompting their Fuhrer. The Father of Lies, he comes in many guises, always attractive - slick, confident and smiling with spin-doctored glibness, or deceitfully promising the poor and ignorant “72 virgins” in a lustful “paradise”, or wrapped in the flag of patriotism – “the last refuge of scoundrels”, or with stage managed spectacles promising a down-trodden people a thousand year Reich, or perhaps more commonly he will just use the seductiveness of physical attraction.



We do need to heed Our Lord’s warnings, and be on our guard. We need to keep our eyes our minds and our hearts on Him, the Man – God Himself- suffering for us on the Cross and then Radiant in His Resurrection. In that Countenance is our sure Hope of Eternal Life.

LISTEN WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO US