Tuesday 12 July 2011

An Image of God

You might already have seen the video below, but you probably didn't see it in the light of the following quote from G.K. Chesterton:

“A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” (Orthodoxy, Chapter 4)

OK, now watch the video...


Monday 4 July 2011

The Campaign for Colourful Clothing

You may not have heard before of The Campaign for Colourful Clothing; but that’s hardly surprising, as it’s not got beyond the Catholic Chaplaincy of UCLAN until now. Like many of my ideas, it may never actually come to fruition (the Eucharistic flash mob was an exception), so I thought I’d put it out for people’s amusement and (possibly) edification.

The Campaign for Colourful Clothing is not evangelistic – it falls rather into the category of ‘pre-evangelisation’ (a useful term I first came across in an article about The Lord of the Rings). For it seeks to lift something of that blanket of dullness whereby the devil keeps many people from finding and following the Lord.

I have already written about wearing the religious habit in public. But one thing I didn't mention was how it slowly dawned on me, over the years, that my sober, penitential garb is actually quite colourful and stylish compared to the drab, misshapen clothing worn by most people in this country. It further occurred to me that this was wrong, that the religious habit was originally conceived as a modest and austere contrast to the merry clothing of medieval Europe. Back then, wearing brown made the friars stand out as poor and humble. Now, however, it is the rare person wearing something colourful who stands out from a sea of black, grey, and highly muted colours. Just have a look next time you're out in a busy street or other public place.

Old Tom Bombadill is a merry fellow;
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
I write this at a time of year when the amount of colour on display does go up somewhat. Oddly enough, it's just when the weather is doing a good enough job of being cheerful that many people get out their cheerful clothes. We could really do with these bright colours in the grey and damp of winter; but the prevailing fashion is for grim and grey shades. I was once told that this Western tendency to wear black, grey, and white stems from the age of the Puritans. Until then the normal thing was to wear colourful clothing (although some colours were expensive to come by). We can see this more universal human instinct in the cultures of places like Africa and India. The normality of black and grey in our society is a suppression of natural human joy. Other kill-joy changes also date back to Oliver Cromwell and his ilk: the reduction of Christmastide from 40 days to 12, and the still-extant (but not enforced) law that bans the eating of plum pudding on Christmas Day.

As someone who wears dark brown, I am far from denigrating 'drab' clothing. I appreciate the subtlety of muted shades - including grey, which no fan of The Lord of the Rings can regard as a boring colour. Black, too, has its place. But my point is that there is far too much of the dark or muted colours.

I have therefore resolved to raise my voice against this modern wrong, and start a campaign to encourage a change in fashion. I conceive this as part of a greater movement, which for the time being I shall call Making England Merry Again, and which has yet to develop. The Campaign for Colourful Clothing is but the first battle in this crusade (I use the word deliberately).

In my fond imaginings, the battle will be brought to the streets by cheerfully-dressed people wielding 'Award Cards', which will be handed out to anyone wearing colourful clothing. The cards will carry a simple message of gratitude - "Thank you for brightening up our lives". There will also be a list of the guidelines as to what kind of clothing merits an award card, and the address of a website which will give tips on good colour combinations and other ways of dressing more merrily.

Deep down, they really want to be Benedictines
As I said above, the Campaign may never actually happen. I merely put the idea out in the hope that it will be the beginning of something. But, if after all I've said, you still feel that colours like black or grey are more 'you', maybe you should join a religious order. Now there's a thought...

Saturday 2 July 2011

Flash Mob: The Text

This ‘litany’, which we used in the Eucharistic flash mob, has been a very popular element. Many have requested the text, and many who haven’t asked might still appreciate it.


Jesus Christ is in every book of the Bible…

In Genesis Jesus is...
“The Seed of the Woman”

In Exodus He is…
“The Passover Lamb”

In Leviticus He is…
“The Priest, the Altar & the Sacrifice”

In Numbers He is…
“The Pillar of Cloud by Day and the Pillar of Fire by Night”

In Deuteronomy Jesus is…
“The Prophet Like Moses”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Joshua Jesus is…
“The Captain of Our Salvation”

In Judges He is…
“Our Judge and Lawgiver”

In Ruth He is…
“Our Kinsman-Redeemer“

In I & II Samuel He is…
“Our Trusted Prophet”

In Kings & Chronicles He is…
“Our Reigning King”

In Ezra He is…
“The Rebuilder of the Broken-Down Walls of Human Life”

Come and kneel before Him now


In Nehemiah Jesus is…
“Our Restorer”


In Tobit He is…
“The Messenger of New Life”

In Judith He is…
“Weakness Turned into Victory”

In Esther He is…
“Our Advocate”

In I & II Maccabees He is…
“The Leader Who Dies for God’s Law”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Job Jesus is…
“Our Ever-Living Redeemer”

In Psalms He is…
“Our Shepherd”

In Proverbs He is…
“Our Wisdom”

In Ecclesiastes He is…
“Our Hope of Resurrection”

In the Song of Songs He is…
“Our Loving Bridegroom”

In Wisdom He is…
“The Emanation of God’s Thought”

In Ecclesiasticus Jesus is…
“Our Security”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Isaiah Jesus is…
“The Suffering Servant”

In Jeremiah He is…
“The Righteous Branch”

In Lamentations He is…
“Our Weeping Prophet”

In Baruch He is…
“The Mercy From the Eternal One”

In Ezekiel He is…
“The One With the Right To Rule”

In Daniel Jesus is...
“The Fourth Man in the Firey Furnace”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Hosea Jesus is…
“The Faithful Husband Forever Married to the Sinner”

In Joel He is…
“The One who Baptises with the Holy Spirit and Fire”

In Amos He is…
“The Restorer of Justice”

In Obadiah He is…
“Mighty to Save”

In Jonah He is…
“Our Great Foreign Missionary”

In Micah Jesus is…
“The Feet of One Who Brings Good News”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Nahum Jesus is…
“Our Stronghold in the Day of Trouble”

In Habakkuk He is…
“God My Saviour”

In Zephaniah He is…
“The King of Israel

In Haggai He is…
“The Signet Ring”

In Zechariah He is…
“Our Humble King Riding on a Colt”

In Malachi Jesus is…
“The Sun of Righteousness”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Matthew Jesus is…
“God with us”

In Mark He is…
“The Son of God”

In Luke He is…
“The Son of Mary – feeling what you feel”

In John He is…
“The Bread of Life”

In Acts Jesus is…
“The Saviour of the world”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Romans Jesus is…
“The Righteousness of God”

In I Corinthians He is…
“The Resurrection”

In II Corinthians He is…
“The God of All Comfort”

In Galatians He is…
“Your Liberty. He sets you free.”

In Ephesians Jesus is…
“The Head of the Church”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Philippians Jesus is…
“Your joy”

In Colossians He is…
“Your completeness”

In I & II Thessalonians He is…
“Your hope”

In I Timothy He is…
“Your faith”

In II Timothy Jesus is…
“Your stability”

Come and kneel before Him now

In Titus Jesus is…
“Truth”

In Philemon He is…
“Your benefactor “

In Hebrews He is…
“Your perfection”

In James He is…
“The power behind your faith”

In I Peter He is…
“Your example”

In II Peter Jesus is…
“Your purity”

Come and kneel before Him now

In I John Jesus is…
“Your life”

In II John He is…
“Your pattern”

In III John He is…
“Your motivation”

In Jude He is…
“The foundation of your faith”

In Revelation Jesus is…
“Your coming King.”

He is…
the first and the last;
the beginning and the end.
He is the keeper of creation and the creator of all.
He is the architect of the universe and the manager of all time.
He always was, He always is and He always will be
unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.

He was bruised and brought healing,
He was pierced and eased pain,
He was persecuted and brought freedom,
He was dead and brought life,
He is risen and brings power,
He reigns and brings peace.

The world can’t understand him;
the armies can’t defeat him;
schools can’t explain him;
and the leaders can’t ignore him.
Herod couldn’t kill him;
the Pharisees couldn’t confuse him;
the people couldn’t hold him;
Nero couldn’t crush him;
Hitler couldn’t silence him;
the new age can’t replace him;
and Oprah can’t explain him away!

He is life, love, longevity & Lord.
He is goodness, kindness, gentleness and God.
He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, pure.
His ways are right, His words eternal, His rules unchanging,
and His mind… is on me.
He is my redeemer.
He is my saviour.
He is my God.
He is my Priest.
He is my Joy.
He is my Comfort.
He is my Lord
and He rules my life.