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

I subscribe entirely to what Br. Donald, a Sacred Heart Brother, says in the below quote from the American VISION Vocation Guide Facebook page in relation to the immense graces that I have received through my life as a Brother. "The invitation [to a ministry]—and the response . . . . is . . . one that has taken me down paths I would never have imagined or thought myself capable. Living the response has helped me to grow as Brother, in my understanding of how Christ relates to us and how we are invited to relate to each other." —Brother Donald Sukanek, S.C. Brothers of the Sacred Heart

This news item doesn't seem to have broken yet in English-language sources. The Pope has criticised the arrogance of Italian Bishops, their taste for money, their complacency and their ambition. At last someone prepared to stand up to them!! And he doesn't mince his words. See here . But we should also take his words to heart ourselves as a wake up call for all Christians to resist complacency in the living out of their faith and respond afresh each day to his call to follow him. UPDATE: I've been sent this today.

Prof. Brian Cox has the gift of being both sensible and level-headed whilst at the same time being passionate about communicating his own passion for nature/the universe, not unlike astronaut Chris Hadfield, with whom he also shares the lay man's open-mouthed sense of wonder at the splendour of it all and the ability to articulate that wonder in a way that helps others to share in it. In these quotes from his new book  + TV series he comes down quite clearly on Darwin's side, but is nonetheless measured and respectful in his attitude to religion + religious belief in relation to our understanding of the universe. Though Cox himself is not religious, in advocating the need for a sense of wonder when observing even as insignificant a thing as a blade of grass, he is advocating an attitude which I believe brings us closer to God in awe and wonder at the world he has made.

Here's the end of this wonderful, wonderful speech: "Be wise, because the world needs more wisdom. And if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise and behave like they would. And now go and make interesting mistakes, amazing mistakes, glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules, make the world more interesting for you being here. Make good art." 

Took this (using Instagram) on a day out in Beaulieu + the New Forest with visiting Brothers and lay people from Rennes, Brittany. That's Beaulieu House, the home of Lord + Lady Montaigu. The French found hilarious the way we pronounce "Beaulieu". Not surprising, really.

Sci-fi film fans out there may recognise this location (i.e. the waterfall) from the opening sequence of Ridley Scott's recent return to the "Alien" universe in "Prometheus", where the Engineer sacrifices himself to sow the seeds of life in the water going over the falls. And the photo itself...? Well, no surprise to see it won a competition. Just stunning. APOD: 2013 May 17 - The Waterfall and the World at Night

I came across the following reflexion in the Magnificat monthly missal/prayer book that we use for our daily Masses that the school Chaplain celebrates in our community. It spoke to me deeply through its distinction between "sometimes-love" and "always-love" and the call from Jesus to embrace, as he did, the latter type of love, God's unquenchable love that he has placed in our hearts and that takes us away from the dead end of selfish/self love. Father-Centered with Jesus  MOTHER MARY FRANCIS, P.C.C. The persevering love of Jesus is the unquenchable love. Jesus did the will of the Father when it was not at all pleasing to his human nature. It was not pleasing, even long before the Passion, to be treated with ingratitude, to be disappointed again and again, to receive such small returns for his love. But he did the will of the Father always and not just when it was agreeable to his humanity. Out of that constancy comes directly that persevering ...

Canadian astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield landed back on earth yesterday after over 5 months at the International Space Station, part of that time as station Commander. I'm a little late to the party on this one (which I very much regret), but during his time in space he has used social media and modern communication in an unprecedented way to give people back on earth a wonderful insight into the daily life of astronauts orbiting our planet. Through his eloquent tweets, Facebook messages, educational videos, songs and spellbinding photos from space he's made real-life space travel cool and interesting again. A turning point for the future of space travel and investment in its development, perhaps? He's certainly seems to have awoken in millions around the world that sense of wonder at the beauty of creation that the spectacle of IMAX/3D and CGI-inspired cinema science fiction cinema (which I love!) had maybe dimmed in recent years, despite the best efforts of astronomers...