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June 2019

Peter and Paul Sml

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom: Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.Amen. Read

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Baryon Proton Sml

The Trinity and a Baryon

Yes, I’ve taught Physics, but it was only a recent conversation with a Physics teacher after Trinity Sunday that the Baryon model of quarks came up as a model for the Trinity. Quarks cannot exist alone. [It is possible for a quark and an antiquark to exist very briefly as a meson]. It takes three

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Anthelm Sml

Anthelm of Belley

26 June is the Feast of Anthelm of Belley. He was born near Chambéry in 1107. He would later receive an ecclesiastical benefice in the area of Belley. When he was thirty years old, he resigned from this position to become a Carthusian monk at Portes. Only two years after joining the order, he was

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Matariki Cluster Sml

Winter Soulstice Matariki

In the Southern Hemisphere, at the time of the winter solstice, a cluster of seven stars, called ‘the Pleiades’ in the Northern Hemisphere and ‘Matariki’ in Aotearoa New Zealand, becomes visible on the horizon just before dawn. For Maori, this marks New Year. It is a time to remember those who have died, particularly in

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Collar sml

Father

This post continues the reflection around Cardinal John Dew’s letter calling on the addressing of priests as “Father” to stop as it, according to him, has been integral to the Roman Catholic sexual abuse crisis. [Previous posts are here and here]. I am unconvinced. I would note, in passing, that calling a Cardinal “Father” would

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Corpus Christi NZ Lectionary 2019 sml

Corpus Christi

The tradition of giving thanks for the institution of the Eucharist (in the story of Jesus’ life on a Thursday) has long been celebrated on the first “free” Thursday outside of Lent/Easter. People connect it with Juliana of Liège. Thomas Aquinas, at the request of Pope Urban IV in the year 1264, produced the Mass

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