Radio Veritas & Hilaire Belloc

The family invasion is over and life has almost returned to normal!  The astonishing news is that I am presenting a programme on Radio Veritas now that it has it 576MW.  The Mix, 9,00 to 10,00am every Friday.  It's astonishing because of my criticism of the station when I was at the SABC and even on this blog in the past so I was convinced that I would never be approached to help them in any way.

I have presented two programmes so far.  The first had to be recorded as I was heading for Cape Town to join the family invasion of the city.  The second was live and there were a few mistakes which is to be expected.

The programme is part miscellany and part half-hour in depth interview.  The miscellany this week will include the local Fatima Pilgrimage, the 120th anniversary festival of St Joseph's Mayfair, Johannesburg's oldest Catholic Church, music with Richard Cock (that's a weekly fixture) and I always talk about a book.  The main interview will be with Fr Michael Van Heerden the Vice Chancellor of St Augustine's Catholic University.
We also talk about wine and food from time to time and there is a bottle of wine as a prize for a listener each week!......that reminds me of Belloc.


Heretics All

Hilaire Belloc

Heretics all, whoever you may be,
In Tarbes or Nimes, or over the sea,
You never shall have good words from me.
Caritas non conturbat me.

But Catholic men that live upon wine
Are deep in the water, and frank, and fine;
Wherever I travel I find it so,
Benedicamus Domino.

On childing women that are forelorn,
And men that sweat in nothing but scorn:
That is on all that ever were born,
Miserere Domine.

To my poor self on my deathbed,
And all my dear companions dead,
Because of the love that I bore them,
Dona Eis Requiem. 

A Lenten Gap...Mea Culpa.......

St Therese, Edenvale

I've missed a couple of posting days through an invasion of family and Telkom attempting to get the landline functioning and cutting off the ADSL line in the process.  The family are now rushing around nature reserves dying to see nature red in tooth and claw but hopefully not red enough to frighten the children!

This has also meant a change in Church and my normal Mass time on a Sunday to easily accommodate the children.....7,30 at St Therese, Edenvale, a huge modern Catholic Factory run by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate with a school attached.  It's not to my taste but it is successful and they sing all the "Sing Hosanna" stuff that the girls obviously sing at their Catholic School in Surrey.

Easter Day we will all be going to Holy Trinity, Braamfontein at 9,30  as I am on duty then and I will be interested to see the reaction to the liturgy and the music.

Lent has been grinding on and my decision to give up alcohol has been interesting.  Up until Laudete Sunday I really felt that this was a nothing thing.  Somebody said that as it was Laudete we could have a glass of wine but I really didn't feel like one!  For the last couple of weeks it has suddenly become difficult.  I had to present a mystery wine to the Bacchanalian Society and have subsequently been entertaining family and friends with a ginger beer in my hand.  Now, in Holy Week, it is more difficult than ever.  I can remember, a few years ago, on a religious discussion programme that I hosted on the radio on Easter Day one of the panel arriving with a big bag of chocolates and slowly demolishing them...he had apparently given up chocolate for Lent and was making up for lost time!  At the time I thought it strange and certainly not in keeping with a Lenten fast and celebrating Christ's Resurrection.  I can now empathise!  Jean is having the same problem with a lack of computer games and now has severe withdrawal symptoms!


Halfway through my second assignment on Moral Theology at the moment.  It's a very long time since I did any theological study and I really battled to get started on the first assignment though everyone said I would find it easy as I had done it all before.  You need something to get the little grey cells to start working properly again and I'm finding the second one easier.  This easing yourself into systematic studying was the right approach.

A Blessed Holy Week to you all.