Tuesday. Istanbul was once Constantinople.

 In 1571 on this day Pope Pius V defeated the Ottomans in a sea battle fighting for control of Cyprus. This victory is attributed to Our Lady. It doesn't really say why, but I assume the Christian coalition prayed the Rosary at some stage of the battle. The Ottomans were and probably still are of the Islam faith. The Ottomans are also known as Turks, and since 1922 the Ottoman Empire was renamed Turkey. Ottomans are the ruling class, Turks the poorer peasants. Today Turkey sits on the fence between Russia and Nato. It controls who can get in and out of the Black Sea, which annoyed Winston Peters Churchill. Today it won't permit military navel vessels through the Dardinells Dardanelles. Which is good for Ukraine in its fight against  Russia and North Korea.

I'm hoping to allocate at least three hours of my time to Jesus today. Jesus is trying very hard to get all his 'children' to heaven and be with him in a very nice loving place. A lot of people don't want this. I suppose you can't force love upon people. 

Have fun if you can, but don't offend your creator.

Monday: Of good Samaritans and whales

 In todays readings at the amazing Catholic Mass we hear two famous stories. In the first one Jonah, son of Amittai (I like that little detail, it adds authenticity to the tale) is told by God to go to Nineveh and tell them that God has heard of their wickedness (probably an angel told him). Jonah says 'no thanks' and heads off in the opposite direction to Tarshish by boat. A strong southerly blows up and every one is afraid they'll go onto Barrett's reef. They wonder whether it was Robert's or RBB's God who caused the cyclone. So they cut some straw at different lengths and everyone takes one off the captain who is really just covering himself for taking the wrong passage. Jonah gets the short straw and is thrown over board. The southerly immediately dies down and Jonah gets swallowed by a Blue Whale that just happened to be swimming into the harbour entrance. Three days later the whale burps Jonah up onto a beach, maybe somewhere up the East Coast.

In the Gospel a wealthy lawyer, probably from a big firm in Wellington, asks Jesus who is his neighbour. Jesus tells him a story about a baptized Catholic turned agnostic  from Wainuiomata who is on his way to Wellington, probably for a music jam ( he had an honours degree in music and practiced three hours a day)  and stops to help a Potestant who has been attacked and left for dead by some teengers in black hoodies . In the story a Catholic from Moera walks passed ignoring the injured man and a Modernist from Wangarei does the same. Jesus asks the lawyer, who probably lives in an expensive apartment in Oriental Bay, "who acted as a neighbour to the man who was beaten up by the teenagers". "The one who took pity on him" the wealthy lawyer in an expensive suit said. Jesus tells him "Go and do the same".

So it goes. Have fun and don't sin so God will move in with you.

Wednesday

 Feast day: Therese of the child Jesus

Gospel: Luke 9:57 "Once the hand is on the plow, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God".

Christmas marks a turn in civilisation. Throw out the old pagan ideas and religions. There is now just one religion. Catholicism.

Here we see a paradox of the Christian religion. The grand beauty of creation ( both God's and mans) and a little baby at the epicentre. Not just a baby, but by necessity a mother too. We can not approach the baby without the mother's permission. They are inseparable. God entirely dependant on a mother. Born not in some grand private hospital, but a cave. A place where mountain shepherds herded their flocks overnight. "The church contains what the world does not contain".

Have fun boys and say the rosary