Snippets from Simon

  On this world teacher's day I had thought of telling teacher jokes. But I decided to be more kind. All the examples I have witnessed either as a student or working along side staff. For Teachers We Thank You Lord   They tied our shoes when we were small For them we thank you Lord Lined us up to learn in the hall For them we thank you Lord Helped give us courage to stand with all For them we thank you Lord.   They taught us to add, subtract and spell For them we thank you Lord Cared for us whether sick or well For them we thank you Lord Taught us learning goes beyond the bell For them we thank you Lord.     They stood for hours upon their feet For them we thank you Lord Went after children lost up the street For them we thank you Lord Prepared us for play after we eat For them we thank you Lord.   When in doubt they encouraged us For them we thank you Lord They settled us when we’d cuss and fuss ...

  Some years ago, Paul and Josephine (Jo) Rummery lived in Scullin, in what is now South Belconnen Parish. Just before Christmas 2018, Paul and Jo were out for dinner. They received calls to say their house in Tuross Head was on fire.  They would not be able to live there again. After insurance assessments and all that is associated with such tragic events, they relocated to another home. Still on the point at Tuross Head, but in Beach Street, more to the North. They now have plenty of room for family to come and stay. Five back doors, no less! Paul and Jo still have much to say in gratitude.  People helped them with prayers, accommodation, food, and donations of funds. They wished to express their thanks once again to so many people, including our South Belconnen Parish and the Korean Community . It was truly moving to see Paul and Jo in  their new home. +   +   + Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by...

There were some comments made about my account of the reading, or should I say listening, experience of Richard Rohr OFM’s recent book titled The Wisdom Pattern . My response can be found here. Some other books I have found myself returning to are: The Glenstal Book of Prayer .  From the Irish Benedictine Abbey of the same name. Anthony de Mello, SJ Awareness . My original reason for reading this is a story in itself. It is real de Mello. Always challenging, yet encouraging. Delving into the depths of our Catholic spiritual and theological tradition while illustrating it with stories and sayings from other traditions. Joan Chittester, OSB and Rowan Williams Uncommon Gratitude  and also here . This gem of short reflective essays is an evergreen. Written in response to events around the September 11 2001 attacks, it is full of challenge, hope and stories. Richard Rohr, OFM A Lever and a Place to Stand , which has subsequently been published as Dancing To Stand Still.   This...

Image: screenshot from youtube The Piano Guys are known for their video cover versions of other pieces of music.  From Soundtrack excerpts of Twilight and Star Wars to Scottish Fight Songs, they have enthralled viewers.  As wikipedia says: The Piano Guys   is an American musical group consisting of pianist   Jon Schmidt , cellist   Steven Sharp Nelson , videographer Paul Anderson, and music producer Al van der Beek. Originating in Utah, they gained popularity through   YouTube , where in 2011 they began posting   piano   and   cello   compositions combining classical, pop,   film score   and original music, showcased through elaborate or cinematic videos. As of March 2020 the group had surpassed 2 billion views on their YouTube channel and had 6.7 million subscribers. In this clip , we see them at a residential aged care centre performing a Charlie Brown Medley  https://youtu.be/tyPDQpel8bI  .  Now that we are ...

Some of us had been jokingly saying, as more and more events and activities had to be shut down to 'flatten the curve', "Oh, that's another COVID cancel!"  (By way of a red herring, some of us are not so sure about flattening another curve - the one around our midriff! Anyhow, let's pop that red herring back into the sea). Enter  Doug and Pat Blake. Parishioners Doug and Pat Blake are celebrating their 70th, that’s right 70th, wedding anniversary! Attached is a photograph of the small classified that appeared in the Canberra Times today 6 May 2020. Source: Canberra Times  6 May 2020. It is wonderful that their family have been able to pop this in the Canberra Times . It is also challenging, I’m sure, for their family to be able to celebrate this great milestone at a time when we are isolating ourselves as a way of protecting love ones from contracting the COVID-19 virus. As we continue these days and are aware of the isolation, particularly of our more elder m...

Restrictions and Rations Then and Now Last weekend I recorded a message that referred to Paul Byrnes' book The Lost Boys  (pictured). It is an historical account of young men, indeed teenagers really, who went away to enlist in the armed services in World War I. I had opened the pages of that book because it was Anzac Day weekend and, as is often the case, was trying to enter into some of the original ANZAC experiences. As a youngster, I recall my own parents talking of their experiences during World War II. They used to talk of restrictions, rations and coupons. They usually had their own cow or chooks, so they didn’t need coupons for milk or butter or eggs. So they would swap with other families for coupons like flour. As we begin to understand what it feels like, what it seems like, in these days of the restrictions of COVID-19, I was wondering how some of the restrictions, including the struggles to buy some goods in the shops, was in someway similar to wartime ...

There are been pre-recorded Masses (sometimes called "canned Mass") and the streamed versions, like the one in the picture above.  These are helping to fill gaps for us in some ways. We are grateful to those who make these provisional celebrations possible. But, as someone said to me along the way "You don't get to receive the Eucharist".  Lent is over and Easter is here yet we still feel a fast of sorts. As some have noted: We miss being at Mass in person, face-to-face and in the flesh. As we long to gather, celebrate, receive and be the Eucharist of Christ together it may give us some moments to pause. In the loss and grief we may feel there are moments where we consider what the Eucharist means to us. Each of us will have reflections that are particular to us.  There are also some commonly inherited understandings.  Two writers have accessible books on the Eucharist from our common inheritance.  They knead together their own reflections with...