Hail Glorious Saint George

There are two distinct legends about Great George, the first, the soldier martyr slain for the faith, there is that marvellous altarpiece where St George suffers every possible torture or attempt to slay him until he finally succumbs.
The second legend he appears from nowhere, fights against a dragon to save a virgin, having defeated the dragon, the virgin leads him, now tamed into the city.

I love saints like St George, whose true story is lost in myth.
In both stories George becomes a Christian "everyman". The first legend reminds us that despite every attempt to overcome him by God's grace George endures and survives all, and even in death is victorious.
The second story draws on apocalyptic imagery, the dragon is the symbol of evil, the power of sin, but here it is to be contrasted with the pure virgin. I am reminded of St Athanasius' struggle for twenty years in the tomb against demons. In all of us there is the pure virgin and the dragon.
George, here takes on the attributes of St Michael (Michael means "Who is like God"), in his struggle he overcomes evil which then becomes subject to purity.

The battle between George and the dragon therefore can be seen as the battle which takes place in the hearts of all believers, the struggle to tame our rebellious wayward nature and make it subject to the Life of Grace.

Blessed Feet

I like this, about the red shoes which I found on Amy's site:

After many false starts, the doors finally opened to reveal the Pope. He came down the steps toward his car and, then, headed toward the barricades on the lawn. I was standing close, but as he approached, I lost sight of him. He had to walk between two large shrubs and he is not a tall man.
The shrubs were a type of evergreen, trimmed round, fresh spring green. My eyes fell to the bottom of the bush. I do not recall focusing on the noise. All seemed quiet and time seemed to stop. I felt like a child playing in my neighborhood; looking beneath the shrubs, as I often had. What was I looking for in particular back in my childhood? Nothing in particular, looking beneath the shrubs was an exercise in pure desire, an exercise in hope.
Then, in a moment, I was recalled to the present. Amidst the spring green shrub I made a find, rather something emerged. I saw bright red. It had always been exciting to spy a red bird in the garden, so bright. The shoes! The images deluged my mind: fire from a bush, the shoes of the fisherman, the bloodied feet of Christ, St. Peter’s bloodied feet. The Holy Father had greeted Catholic educators yesterday evening with Isaiah’s words quoted by St. Paul: “How beautiful are the footsteps of those who bring good news” (Rom 10:15-17). The Holy Father brings Good News, Christ is our Hope! This morning we found abundant joy in Christ with each other. May the words of Psalm 65 be a prayer answered as the Holy Father travels to New York:
You crown the year with your goodness.Abundance flows in your steps,In the pastures of the wilderness it flows.

I thought they signified walking in the way of martyrdom.

EU refuses help to Christians in Iraq

Rorate Caeli reports
On Friday, the Slovenian presidency of the European Union rejected a proposal by Germany to give preferential treatment to requests for asylums by Iraqi Christians.

"I think that the right of asylum should be granted regardless of religion or race," said Dragutin Mate, Slovenian Minister of the Interior upon his arrival in Luxembourg where he was to chair a meeting of his counterparts from the European Union. "It seems to me to be difficult to work in this direction" (of preferential treatment), he added. The German Minister of the Interior, Wolfgang Schäuble, had announced his intention to seek the endorsement of the Member States for facilitating the acceptance of asylum applications submitted by Christians in Iraq, whom he considers to be threatened by sectarian violence within their country. The Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, Mgr Rahou Faraj, was abducted and killed on March 29. The Chaldeans, Eastern Rite Catholics, are the main Christian community in Iraq and one of the oldest Christian churches. Before the American invasion of 2003, the Christian community in the country had approximately 800,000 members, or about 3% of the majority Muslim population. A large part of them have fled the country or have settled in Iraqi Kurdistan. More than 4,000 applications for asylum have been introduced in Germany by Iraqi refugees in 2007, according to the Interior Ministry, which did not specify their religion.

From Journal Chrétien

Priest dissappears in balloon stunt

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest who floated off under hundreds of helium party balloons was missing Monday off the southern coast of Brazil.
Rescuers in helicopters and small fishing boats were searching off the coast of Santa Catarina state, where pieces of balloons were found.
Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli lifted off from the port city of Paranagua on Sunday afternoon, wearing a helmet, thermal suit and a parachute.
He was reported missing about eight hours later after losing contact with port authority officials, according to the treasurer of his Sao Cristovao parish, Denise Gallas.
Gallas said by telephone that the priest wanted to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons to raise money for a spiritual rest-stop for truckers in Paranagua, Brazil's second-largest port for agricultural products.
Some American adventurers have used helium balloons to emulate Larry Walters — who in 1982 rose three miles above Los Angeles in a lawn chair lifted by balloons.
A video of Carli posted on the G1 Web site of Globo TV showed the smiling 41-year-old priest slipping into a flight suit, being strapped to a seat attached to a huge column green, red, white and yellow balloons, and soaring into the air to the cheers of a crowd.
According to Gallas, the priest soared to an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) then descended to about 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) for his planned flight to the city of Dourados, 465 miles (750 kilometers) northwest of his parish.
But winds pushed him in another direction, and Carli was some 30 miles (50 kilometers) off the coast when he last contacted Paranagua's port authority, Gallas said.
Carli had a GPS device, a satellite phone, a buoyant chair and is an experienced skydiver, Gallas said.
"We are absolutely confident he will be found alive and well, floating somewhere in the ocean," she said.
"He knew what he was doing and was fully prepared for any kind of mishap."

EWTN

I have been watching the Papal visit to the US on EWTN, I have to admit, I haven't enjoyed it much in the past: it might my own prejudice or it could be their excessive defference to clergy which I find irksome, or just my lack of appreciation of the American Way, here, of broadcasting. It is a little bit of a culture shock, but I began enjoying it, even the Tom and Gerry act of Neuhauss and Arroya. I can't afford it on television but on the computer...

At the moment I am listening to some Bishop at Prayer Breakfast, speaking very eloquently about Pope Benedict's theolgy. They have Mass during the day, celebrated quite beautifully. I can only get it at 100k.

So how to get it yourself, people always ask for detailed instructions,

so click here

go to "Television"

go to click "live television - English"

on the pop-up click "US Media"

then choose the definition your computing apparatus can cope with, the larger the better.

I am going to put the link in the side bar.

Fr Zachariah Botros

Brighton taxi drivers are fascinating, the other day I met a fascinating Zimbabwian on an outward journey and remarkable young Coptic Orthodox who brought me home. He was listening to some beautiful eastern music, he told me it was Mass. We spoke his church, this week is Orthodox Holy Week. Then he started to talk Fr Zechariah, Public Enemy No 1., Fr Sean did a piece on him, a most remarkable man , who has an extra-ordinary internet ministry. He seems to specialise in converting Muslims. He used to be a priest in Brighton.

I do admire the Copts in Brighton, so many have endured a great deal of suffering for Christ, there is a beautiful ascetic quality about the best of them. They are marked by the spiritual legacy of the Desert Fathers, those great Egyptian and Sudanese saints.

Yankee Stadium Mass

Homily - New York

I was out this evening what was the Liturgy like?