Today is the Feast of Saint Catherine of Siena.

Catherine was born into a big family, the 24^th of 25 children.

From the start, she was different.

Today she might be given pills to make her less different.

In childhood, she reported seeing visions.

At 7, she announced that she would never marry, but give her life to God.

At 15, she took to living in silence and solitude in her room, coming out only to attend Mass.

At 18, after a mystical “spiritual espousal” to Christ, she rejoined the world, busying herself helping the sick and poor.

Catherine ate almost nothing except the Bread received at Holy Communion.

Described by all as “radiantly happy”, she was accompanied everywhere by a band of “disciples”.

She visited and gave advice to the Pope, guiding him in political and other practical decisions.

She died, aged 33, on 29 April 1380.

* * *

Unable, herself, to read or write, Catherine’s sayings — many uttered during periods of altered consciousness — were recorded by her disciples or “secretaries”.

These writings are considered amongst the finest and most profound in the Italian language.

Most famous is her “Dialogue”, a sort of conversation, questions and answers,  between herself and God.

Saint Catherine’s message was one of humility — “self-knowledge” being the key to living for God.

* * *

“God of truth, God of love, permit me to enter into the cell of self-knowledge.

Of myself I am nothing.

All the being and goodness in me comes solely from you . . . .”

* * *

“How sweet and glorious is the virtue of obedience, which contains all the other virtues . . .

He who espouses it knows no evil . . . .

Obedience navigates without fatigue, it is straightforward and without deceit.

Give me this pearl trampled underfoot by the world,

which humbles itself to submit to creatures for love of you.”

* * *

“Until now I have not known your truth and have not loved it.

Why did I not know you?

Because I did not see you with the glorious light of the holy Faith.

Because the cloud of self-love darkened the eye of my intellect.

O eternal Trinity, dissipate the darkness with your light.

Penetrate me with a ray of grace

So that in that light I may give you thanks.”

It seems that Mr Troy Buswell, Treasurer of Western Australia, may have misused public money in the process of having an “affair” with another politician.

Anyway his premier thinks so, and he has lost his job.

Are we to assume from this that there is a difference between right and wrong?

* * *

It is possible (probable) that Mr B is not the only MP involved in adultery, fornication and/or other unnatural acts. We not expecting to see all such defrocked from their parliamentary posts.

What is the difference?

Is it because money was involved?

Is money more important than family loyalties?

* * *

Getting back to the question of right and wrong . . . .

If the distinction between r and w is a real one, then there must be a God.

This blog has always supported belief in God.

It is encouraging to think that our leaders (premiers etc.) acknowledge our Creator.

* * *

To believe in God is more than just holding an opinion.

God is almighty. He is demanding. He is all-consuming.

If you live in God’s presence, he will change you. It is no small decision to be a believer.

The demands God makes of us are demands that we cannot live up to.

He insists that we put him first in everything: that our lives be pure . . . and honest . . . and non-violent . . . and humble . . . .

* * *

No, we can never live up to these standards without outside help.

Fortunately such help is readily at hand . . . in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

Nowhere else.

That seems like a minority view.

But do we not all suspect that it may be true — uncomfortable though such an awareness may make us?

On Easter Monday the Pope led a group of Catholics in Rome in a prayer in which he acknowledged that the church is in “times of difficulty.”

An understatement, perhaps.

He went on to refer to Catholics being “messengers of victory over evil and death.”

Most of the media didn’t like that. They say the Church has lost its right to leadership in moral affairs.

Others, however, are starting to concede that attacks on the Church are being overdone and will prove to be counter-productive.

An editorial in one Canadian paper described such coverage as betraying “more than a whiff of a witch-hunt.”

* * *

The Pope has conceded repeatedly — apologising in Ireland and elsewhere — that in retrospect the Church should have done better in ridding itself of bad priests.

He clearly intends from now on to be a zero-tolerance Pope.

But his enemies aren’t listening.

One Irish victim-group spokeswoman said, “Pope Benedict has passed up a glorious opportunity to address the core issue . . . .”

No matter what the Pope says, some will never be satisfied. Nothing short of him killing himself would please them. Plus the Catholic Church ceasing to exist.

* * *

The Church teaches that it is the one true Church.

The Catholic religion is not Buddhism. Although it contains mystics, Catholicism is not, basically mysticism.

Personal union with the Godhead, personal “enlightenment”, flights of feelgood meditation etc.– these are not the core issue that the Church is about.

The Church is the continuing incarnation of God on this earth — not some kind of invisible fellowship of likeminded person of goodwill regardless of their creed.

No, the Church is very visible. Sometimes embarrassingly visible.

The Church has historically defined itself as “a union of men who are united by the same Christian faith, and by participation in the same Sacraments under direction of their lawful pastors, especially of the one representative of Christ on earth, the pope of Rome.”

That is the message which the Pope must never give up on proclaiming.

He doesn’t have to please everybody. But he does have to be Catholic.

Don’t knock him, pray for him.

How come over 3000 Sydney girls aged 12 to 14 were out and about, many unsupervised, at 3am?

They wanted to see an under-age entertainer — and their parents either hadn’t tried to, or at least succeeded in, stopping them.

The tinies wouldn’t do what the police told them, so they almost crushed each other to death.

The entertainment was called off and the children told journalists the thing was badly organised and that they were hard done by.

Police say lack of parental supervision was why they cancelled the performance.

But are parents allowed to supervise children?

Don’t children have rights that trump any authority parents might try to exert?

* * *

Parents are forever being told they should “listen to their children”.

In the context of the internet porn-filter debate, we got lectured by experts saying things like:

 “For young people everywhere online communication and social networking sites form an important part of social identity construction and it’s not realistic to simply ban children from connecting and communicating online. The answer, as usual, is that we should talk with young people, listen to their concerns and allow them the space to think through and reflect on their own experiences . . . .”

That’s a quote from Nina Funnell, media researcher at the University of NSW, in the Sydney Morning Herald the other day.

Have you ever heard such drivel? Only an academic paid to talk that way could talk that way.

“Net Filter Patronises the Digital Generation”, said the headline . . . .

* * *

If there’s one thing our youth need it is to be patronised.

Sure, the young have a role to play in society.

That role is to keep quiet, to listen to and obey their parents, and to try to grow up — ignoring their so-called peers if they choose to rebel against traditional morals and virtues.

* * *

Ideally children should be with at least one parent for as much of their first 20 years as possible.

One parent staying home isn’t always easy.

Making the necessary sacrifices is an act of generosity which God will reward.

A survey published in early April 2010 showed that a quarter of Germany’s Catholics were considering leaving the Church following media reports of sexual abuse by priests.

Are not these people traitors, turncoats and pikers?

They know — and the Church’s enemies in the media who report these things know — that abusing children is not part of the Catholic Faith.

They also know — and their enemies know – that, compared with other occupational groups, sex abuse by priests is, in fact, relatively uncommon.

Children are, and have always been, safer with priests than with the celebrities of the worlds of media , fashion, sport, entertainment, politics etc.

And certainly safer than with Mummy’s latest boyfriend.

* * *

So why are these Catholics quitting?

Was their commitment to Catholic belief and practice already wobbly?

Were they waiting for an excuse to bail out anyway?

With the Church under pressure of accusations – some unfortunately true – should not its members redouble their commitment to the Church?

Dear troubled Catholic, the Church needs you now, more than ever.

Stay in the Church. Help to make it better and more faithful. Pray more. Live better and more pure yourself.

Insist on the facts when you hear the Church accused of being supposedly the worst community group regarding child abuse.

If you aren’t sure of the facts, check this blog, dated 13 April 2006 (www.marymackillop.org/2010/04/13)

Or www.zenit.org/article-3922?l=english

* * *

The media, responsible for saturating our children’s minds with sex served up as entertainment and as an advertising ploy, making sexual sin seem trendy, seeks to distract us . . . .

To distract us from their never-ending sociopathic, neo-pornographic excesses, day in, day out, for decades . . . .

They want the Catholic Church exterminated — it being their last remaining source of criticism for their dishonesties, impurities and hypocrisies.

Let’s stick together and unmask them.

Tip-toeing away from of the Church will help nobody.

Thank God for the good the Church has done, is doing, and will still be doing when its critics have all gone to their reward.

Today is the Third Sunday after Easter.

20 days after Easter, the day of Christ’s Resurrection.

20 days before the Ascension, the day he passed from their earthly sight.

Today’s Mass readings are chosen to remind us that, just as Our Lord came to this world on a temporary basis, so do we — and we should never forget it.

* * *

From the writings of Saint Peter:

 “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul . . . .”

The Catholic should literally think of himself as one just passing through, so far as worldly securities are concerned.

To focus one’s motives on things belonging to this world would be as sensible as reaching the bridge you must cross to reach home and deciding to camp on it and never go further.

For the follower of Christ, his true citizenship is in heaven, not on earth.

This puts politics in its proper perspective.

Political questions are important — but only insofar as they have a bearing on the state of people’s souls.

The Church – if doing its job — can never be predictably right-wing or left-wing by earthly categories.

* * *

From today’s gospel reading:

 “While the world rejoices, you will grieve. But your grief will become joy.

“When a woman is in labour, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

“So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” (John’s Gospel, chapter 16)

* * *

These were words of Jesus to his apostles specifically preparing them to cope when he was no longer with them — reminding them that suffering is part of the normal deal for Christians.

The real joy in life is knowing that God exists.

The sufferings he permits us to undergo do not affect that certainty, although they certainly put it to the test.