Morning Radio

Well it is 6:30am and I should be on my way to the radio station to start the morning show but I wanted to pen, or rather type a little entry here first. Today I start the morning show on WESO 970 am in Southbridge. You can listen via live stream at www.fatherpeterlive.com

I am not sure how it will go but I have to talk for 2 hours. Those who know me will find that this should not be a problem at all. I would be interested in any thoughts you may have on the show and I will continue to post updates here and via twitter.com if you wish to follow. Okay off to the station.

Sunday of St. John Climacus

The memory of this Saint is celebrated on March 30, where his biography may be found. He is celebrated today because his book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, is a sure guide to the ascetic life, written by a great man of prayer experienced in all forms of the monastic polity; it teaches the seeker after salvation how to lay a sound foundation for his struggles, how to detect and war against each of the passions, how to avoid the snares laid by the demons, and how to rise from the rudimental virtues to the heights of Godlike love and humility. It is held in such high esteem that it is universally read in its entirety in monasteries during the Great Fast.

European Union must set fixed date for Easter

FERGAL QUINN
Fri, Mar 27, 2009

EU must be involved because this issue affects the secular lives of most citizens

LAST YEAR, Easter fell so early (March 23rd) that it caused a major inconvenience to most people. As the parents of school children will remember, their kids were hardly back after Christmas when it was already time for the mid-term break. And they started their Easter holidays even before St Patrick’s Day.

Easter this year falls on April 12th. In two years’ time, it will fall on April 24th. That is a 32-day gap in the space of four years. It is the difference between having Easter falling before winter is really out and having it when spring is well advanced.

That is a big problem for the tourism industry and for its customers – it means that every year they have a different product to sell, and every year the post-Easter early summer period starts at a different time.

Most people consider that having Easter as a moveable feast is a hassle, but assume it is a hassle they have to live with. They assume that there is some deep religious reason for setting the date of Easter the way we do, and that the churches would be opposed to any change.

Nothing could in fact be further from the truth. More than 40 years ago, the second Vatican Council made this clear when it declared that it had no objection to bringing in a fixed date for Easter. A little over a decade later, in 1975, the then pope Paul VI actually went so far as to propose a specific date – the second Sunday in April.

So why has nothing happened? Most members of the World Council of Churches were prepared to agree, with one glaring exception. The Orthodox Churches refused to go along with a proposal that might create the impression they were being led by Rome – not surprisingly, since they define themselves mainly by their independence from Rome.

At the same time, though, they apparently also made it clear that they would have no objection either to a fixed date for Easter – just so long as it did not involve following a proposal that was driven by the Roman Church.

And there the matter has languished for more than 30 years – a highly sensible suggestion that meets wide agreement, but which lacks a driver acceptable to all the religious interests.

Who will fill this gap?

I suggest the European Union is the ideal body to take this idea and run with it. The EU could justify its involvement because this issue is not just a religious one, but affects the secular lives of most citizens and is a barrier to the efficiency of most businesses.

Not alone that, but the EU has a magnificent track record in standardising basic matters like this, to the greater benefit of all.

* It brought about common starting and ending dates for the application of summertime right across Europe;
* It persuaded all European countries to use the same international prefix(00) for making international telephone calls;
* It created and implemented the GSM mobile phone technology that is universally used across Europe, and in large swathes of the world beyond;
* It has succeeded in abolishing passport controls across almost all of Europe (although, regrettably, Britain and Ireland still stand aloof from this great step forward).

By taking on the task of establishing a fixed date for Easter, the EU would be making a highly popular step – and so would be improving its own perception among the peoples of Europe. Let’s do it!

Feargal Quinn is an Independent member of Seanad Éireann

Church Events

Last night we held our Third Annual Ham Party at the church. Okay I am sure you are now asking yourself what on God’s Green Earth is a Ham Party. Well simply put it is a meat raffle. We get like 25 hams and other assorted Easter type baskets and we spin a big wheel and people win stuff. Believe it or not it draws a crowd. We had about 50 people in for a spaghetti and meatball meal before and then Tom A spins the wheel and people start to win.

Paul was whipping people up in a frenzy as the wheel was spun, Nick was manning the bar and playing some tunes in between spins. Sam, Spiro, Paul, Vic, Charlie, & Carol teamed up to sell the tickets. Jim D was in the Kitchen along with his sisters Linda and Jeanette. I hope I have not left anyone out. I almost forgot the other Paul who sat with me at the money table and passed out the tickets. Paul is the parish treasurer and a great guy. It was a great night, lots of fun, and we made some money for the church.

We have a small church with very dedicated people and we rely on these events to help us minster. I look at it this way. We raise some funds for the church, it brings the community together. Not only the Church community but the community at large, and we have loads of fun.

I will say this, and in light of my post this past week I need to say this, when we need to we pull together and work hard for the church. Even if people could not stay for the entire night they came anyway. Maybe they just had some food, or perhaps they stayed for a little while and bought some tickets to win a ham, either way the church people came through again and the event was a big success. The faithful at St. Michael’s never let the church down, when work needs to be done the faithful show up. We have a proud tradition and we are keeping it going.

Thanks to all who supported this event or any of our events it was a busy week.

Beautiful Saturday

Another beautiful Saturday in the Village. Last weekend was just stupendous and now this weekend is working out the same way. I woke this AM and got some office work done. It is amazing how email piles up in my inbox. Sorry if you have been waiting for a response from me it will be on the way soon.
Last night I went out with some friends to a local eatery for some chow and good conversation. Met some old friends there and had a wonderful chat. Got to bed early and some much needed sleep.
Tomorrow after Liturgy we have a 40 day memorial of a senior member of the parish that died. In the orthodox tradition we recall the person on the 40 anniversary of their death as well as the first three years after that. Usually we have a meal in the parish hall but tonight we have an event there so we will be going to a restaurant for the meal. I have to dash right after for the Annual Kirking of the Tartans, more on this latter.
Monday I start the morning show on WESO 970 am here in Southbridge. I will be streaming the show so look for the announcement here and facebook.

Patr. Bartholomew to White House meeting?

The Greek newspaper Kathimerini is reporting that President Obama will meet Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew when he is in Istanbul on April 7 during a visit to Turkey. “However,” the paper said, “the US president is also due to hold a one-on-one meeting with the patriarch in the White House on November 3.”

The plans were firmed up when Archbishop Demetrios met with the president on March 25 during a White House reception in honor of Greek Independence Day, Kathimerini said.

Hat Tip AOI Blog

Shame

I cannot stay silent any longer and I know this is going to anger some people but as Philipa reminded me in my post about Liturgical Language it is my job to make people feel uncomfortable so here goes.

In the last few days it was announced that President Obama has been invited by Notre Dame University to speak at the commencement. Now what is wrong with this you might be asking. Well the main reason is his stand on life issues. This president has not met an abortion bill he has not supported. Now you all know, or maybe you don’t know, but I supported our president when he was running and I pray for him each and every day. But I don’t like some of his policies and when they are at odds with what the church teaches then we cannot support them in fact we have an obligation to tell him he is wrong and protest.

Okay so this morning I an reading my blogs and I come across this post on the blog of the American Orthodox Institute with a video of Archbishop Demitrios of the Greek Archdiocese hailing President Obama and calling him Alexander the Great. Your Eminence I am ashamed of you for calling him this, in fact I think you need to apologize to each and every Orthodox person in the world for this remark. How dare you suck up to the President this way. You never miss an opportunity to have your picture taken, the other day you were sucking up to the Secretary of State another one who has not met an abortion bill she did not like. These people are anti life and for all accounts anti church and here you are calling him Alexander the Great. You should have called him Herod!

Why do we find it necessary to fall into the cult of these people. Like I said we need to pray for him and we need to support our government when we can but to make a statement like this is just absolutely beyond belief. Your Eminence you head the largest Orthodox Archdiocese in America and when you speak you speak for all of us as the head of SCOBA, don’t get me started on that limp organization. You need to speak with authority and call him to task for his positions that are so against what the church teaches. While we are on this point why were you not on the stage with the Metr. Jonah and Archbishop Nicolae for the March for Life in Washington, DC not enough cameras around? We need your leadership on these issues and we need you to speak on these issues when you have the chance and not call our leaders Alexander the Great!

Orthodox bloggers I hope you pay attention and call him to task for this embarrassment and hold his feet to the fire. I am sure this post will get me in some trouble and I am sure there will be pressure to take it down and if it disappears you will know why. Read the article on the AOI blog and see what the Archbishop feels are important issues. I wish he put as much energy into life issues and poverty issues in the US as he does on events in Greece and Macedonia and other places.

I apologize in advance to my Greek friends this is not aimed at you only at what has transpired over the last few days.

Shame, Shame, Shame!

Sunday of the Holy Cross

With the help of God, we have almost reached the middle of the course of the Fast, where our strength has been worn down through abstinence, and the full difficulty of the labour set before us becomes apparent. Therefore our holy Mother, the Church of Christ, now brings to our help the all-holy Cross, the joy of the world, the strength of the faithful, the staff of the just, and the hope of sinners, so that by venerating it reverently, we might receive strength and grace to complete the divine struggle of the Fast.
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