De La Mennais Brothers: Making Jesus Christ better known and loved by young people

Last Fri. (June 18th) I travelled up to Leeds for a day's meetings, sharing + fraternity with 12 Brothers from other congregations in Britain + Ireland on the topic of "Sharing Our Prophetic Vision". I am on the 3 Brother working party (a De La Salle Brother, a John Of God Brother and me) that organised the day and in the afternoon I gave a presentation (+ led a discussion) on "Internet + Evangelisation". This day followed on conveniently from a more high-profile conference in London 2 days earlier for those involved in vocations ministry from both female and male religious congregations and institutes, entitled "Surveying The Catholic Future". I always find it inspiring and encouraging to meet with Brothers from other congregations (+ of course my own too) who still have that fire for God in their belly, who haven't given up hope in terms of our collective future and who, no matter what their age, lay down their lives for God and his people ea...

So England live to fight another day and I'm delighted for them, but especially for the man who has come under even more pressure this week than Robert Green did after his flappy hands against the US - Fabio Capello. I'm a big Capello fan myself. People forget it is his first tournament ever as a national coach. He's never been away with a team like this before and it looks like he is learning as he goes along that his strict "Headmaster" routine won't get the best out of the players when away with them for such a long time and that a more "6th form tutor"-like approach (the players drank beer last night!!??) will work far better. He seems to be getting good performances and a good attitude out of Stevie G., his captain/Head Boy and today diligent left midfielder. All the body language I see when the 2 of them are together speaks volumes of the respect Gerrard has for Don Fabio, the desire he has to please him and the fatherly mentoring that Cap...

After the entertaining tv science documentary series "Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking" on Discovery in the UK (and other channels worldwide), the US is starting to show "Through The Wormhole" a.k.a "Into The Universe With Morgan Freeman". Morgan Freeman? Turns out he is a space enthusiast and co-producer of the series. This first episode looks at the origins of the universe in relation to the God question. I'm hoping that this will be shown in the UK soon (probably on Discovery Science). Viewing Alert: New Series "Through the Wormhole" Written by  Nancy Atkinson For those lucky enough to get the  Science Channel  on cable or satellite, there's an exciting new series called "Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman" hosted and produced by, as you might guess, Academy Award-winning actor and  space  enthusiast Morgan Freeman. The new series explores some of the greatest mysteries  of the universe  and Freeman starts o...

Photos from days 5-7.  Day 5 - The cycle paths through Belgium, Holland and Germany were on the whole nicely tarmaced, clearly indicated and a pleasure to ride. There were a few exceptions, however... This was indicated as a cycle path!! Having arrived at Gerleve Benedictine monastery: the cloister. I came back from Compline (the last prayer time of the day for the monks) to find this most welcome bottle of beer at my door with a glass + bottle opener. Nice touch. Day 6 - Leaving Gerleve the next morning. Camera on timer. More sun, right from the word go at 7am. Here I just liked the lines created by the trees and the road together. The cycle path is in the shadows on the left. It was the feast of Corpus Christi. I crossed a procession to the church here in this town, Telgte, as I left this square. Approaching Porta Westfalica, a famous pass between 2 large hills/small mountains that acts as a gateway into the next region, Westfalia. An a...

From Evernote: Clipped from: http://www.universetoday.com/2010/06/12/astronomy-without-a-telescope-is-time-real/      Time is an illusion caused by the passage of history  (Douglas Adams 1952-2001). A quite fascinating article from one of my favourite websites: ********************************** Astronomy Without A Telescope – Is Time Real? | Universe Today Written by Steve Nerlich The way that we deal with time is central to a major current schism in  physics . Under classic Newtonian  physics and also quantum mechanics – time is absolute, a universal metronome allowing you determine whether events occur simultaneously or in sequence. Under Einstein's physics, time is not absolute – simultaneity and sequence depend on who's looking. For Einstein,  the speed of light  (in a vacuum) is constant and time changes in whatever way is required to keep the  speed of light  constant from all frames of reference. Und...

Here's a first bunch of photos from the ride. Day 1 - Departure from our community in Southampton Fr. Vic McClean, parish priest at Goudhurst, Kent, with whom I stayed the first night. Had never met him before but discovered that we had many common interests (music - both musicians, film, etc...) and that both our fathers were butchers! Day 2 - Staying with my friends Christian + Marie-Brigitte Frère at Wailly-Beaucamp, south of Boulogne-sur-mer in N. France. Day 3 - Leaving the Frères' farmhouse. A disused mine, heading towards the Belgian border. A famous stretch of cobbles (not on my route) going through the Arenburg forest that is used in the Paris-Roubaix one day cycle race, one of the most famous  professional cycle races after the Tour de France. Fr. Pierre (right) and Br. Bruno (left), both Salesians, at their children's home Le Hornu, near Boussu, Belgium. Two of the children. Day 4 - More cobbles, this time in Belgium. These I...

 Today at the Brandenburg Gate.   Well, I have made it to Berlin. 859 miles, 1 broken spoke, no punctures, a few rattles and chipped chainring teeth, lots of sunburn, countless cereal bars, energy drinks, bananas, bottles drinking yoghurt and 8 days later. Longest day = 137 miles, shortest = 80 (the day of the Dover-Boulogne channel crossing). I`m staying in a Franciscan community in the former Communist-controlled East Berlin, having stayed with Benedictines, Salesians, Brothers of the Immaculate Conception, a parish priest, a diocesan conference centre and lay friends on the way here. See the attached photo for a proud cyclist arriving at the Brandenburg Gate this afternoon. Don`t forget, all of this will be in vain if I don´t get that sponsorship coming in for our schools in Haiti, most of whom are currently having to function with tents for classrooms!! Ich bin ein Berliner!!