Some web browsing........

This weeks web browsing for you:

• Deacon Greg asks "What Catholics don't know" and poses the issue that a lot of Catholics are unaware of the basics of their faith but they still have an ability to Wonder.
• Pat Gahn tells us how she is rediscovering the joys of pilgrimage as she visits various places while recovering from surgery and how the key to any successful pilgrimage is keeping one's heart well disposed to him, - "Pilgrim Feet".
• Another take on the faith journey that we live through as Christians - "The Christian Journey is hard, but you can do it!"
• Exploring the Mission of the Laity.
• What makes a real Christian - The Real Orthodoxy Test
• Simcha Fisher has an interesting take on the need for beauty in liturgy but also Why I love my Ugly Little Liturgy.
• Following on from the case of the Miami priest who attempted to con-celebrate Mass with a Presbyterian minister, The Anchoress discuss why for some it is a travesty and others it is just trivial but for many for many Catholics (and other Christians), this seems like a no-brainer: who has the right to stand between Christ and another human being? Her response includes the point that:

"There exists an odd double-standard concerning Catholic observances and almost any other ritual. Culturally nuanced and sensitive Americans would never presume to attend a Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim or even Orthodox Christian celebration with an expectation of full participation, but when Catholics ask the same respect for their holiest sacrament, they are criticized for being unreasonable and “exclusionary,” and always there is a whiff of that dreaded word “intolerance.” Other cultures and religions are to be allowed their exclusivities with full respect, but Catholics who base their beliefs on Jesus’ own words, and on reasoned theology and philosophy, tradition and supporting scripture, ought not expect the same courtesy. And then there's courtesy. Holy Communion is a great mystery of ponderous depth"

• Archbishop Martin was in the media this week - The Man in the Arena who needs help - and also in terms of a speech he made to the Cambridge Group for Irish Studies where he asked "Keeping the show on the road - Is this the future of the Irish Catholic Church?" A challenging address from the Primate of Ireland.
• One of the failures that Archbishop Martin has identified in his time in Dublin is the lack of engagement between the Church and young people, which is also a concern in the USA church: The 99 Lost Sheep: 20-Somethings and the Catholic Church.
• Understanding the stages of spiritual starvation in the West.
• For those of us who spend time online, a warning not too spend too much time there with one Nun asked to leave her convent because she spent too much time on Facebook.
• Ron Rolheiser also challenges us about the amount of time we spend online with perhaps a need to have a Digital Sabbath.
• As the Oscar Ceremony is on next week, an interesting annual take about one member of the academy who always tries to exercise her vote, the Nun who kissed Elvis.
• Spirituality and Religion are not mutually exclusive.
• In a world where we have had a frenzied focus on things and getting things done, perhaps we need to rediscover The Importance of Doing Nothing.

And a quick reminder that even when it seems darkest, God is always near......