2010 May archive at Being Frank

Archive for May, 2010

May

Pause. Rewind.

By James the Least 3 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

Do you ever wonder what it will be like looking back on your life right at this moment in 10, 20 even 50 years?

In our continuing efforts to remove clutter from our lives, we have listed a number of things on TradeMe – including my old VCR. We figured that we don’t really have anything on VHS anymore, and someone else can probably make more use of it than we can.

However, in preparing it for sale, I found a half dozen VHS tapes that we had saved for one reason or another. I then set about using some geek magic to transfer these old videos to a more digital format, to help with enjoying them in our VCR-less future. Amongst these videos were the video compilation shown at my school ball in my final year at high school, a video I put together as part of a university project, and a video of my wife attending one of the World Youth Days as a young student.

As we set about playing them back to check what was on the tapes, there were more than a few chuckles at the hair, fashion, and general quaintness of a lot of what was on these videos. And we’re not talking decades (plural) passing here.

So, I wonder how those videos will look in 2047, to pick a random, future-sounding date. Will I still be able to remember the names of most of the people in the school video? Will I still remember the funny interplay between the different people, and the friendships that provide it context? Will I remember the in-jokes from my university project video, and the hundreds of hours of work that particular paper required?

Because, I have to say, that at those times in our lives, they all seemed really important. Who was friends with whom, who was going out with whom, who was passing and who was failing – all was very important back then. Everything that is captured in that grainy, barely stereo, jumpy video meant a lot to me.

Of course, some of it still does mean a lot, but much of it doesn’t. Exams are a good example of something that was as a large part of my world for many years, and now don’t feature. Moreover, the stress of studying seems almost cute it’s so far removed from the “real” stresses I face today.

But then, speaking of today, I wonder about the home videos I’m taking now. What will I think of those? No doubt the hair and fashion will still be funny, but will I remember the worries and concerns and stresses that are part of my life right now? Or will those have faded into the distance…probably in the light of the stresses of the year 2047? ;)

Answer? Probably the latter.

Is there a lesson in this for me…and for all of us? Maybe not a lesson, but a reminder of the reality of Christ’s instruction not to worry.

Lest we waste the time God has given us, and find ourselves with nothing to chuckle about when reviewing old home movies!

May

Struggle

By eyeWitness Closed

Categories: Being Frank...

I have been on a retreat this weekend so I’m sorry this post is late. I always get so much from retreats – it’s so easy to feel close to God as opposed to in my ordinary daily life. Yet, the struggle is to feel close to God always and every minute of the day – Rome wasn’t built in a day and that requires perserverance I think!

Something I thought about this weekend is that I think I am starting to understand sin a little more and the weakness of human beings through realising it more in myself. It is funny how something I have heard about for years – like sin – can suddenly be seen in greater clarity as you start to realise more what human nature is. I can be so inclined to my own comfort and so weak even in things I have resolved against. And sometimes that makes me upset and frustrated. Yet (as I can mimic from the priest who told me!) the most important thing is just to grow more in love for God and always get back on the horse when you fall, as you inevitably will (and try to train yourself to be stronger through little sacrifices for your friends or through doing things that going against your want to do whatever you like). I think this is possibly standard advice, but as with all things, it takes on new meaning when you start to learn from your own mistakes, see it in your own life and put it into practice… Luckily, as we remember on this day, God gave us the Holy Spirit to help us!

Which is why, I think, we don’t have to be disheartened when we see that other people in the Church sin – that was the whole point of the cross was it not? That yes, indeed, no revelation, human beings sin – and so do you and I, and even priests and bishops, who are also human. I was listening to something by Scott Hahn and he was talking about how Judas was chosen by Jesus as a ‘first priest’ and he wasn’t that great a leader in the end – I had never thought about that before. It must mean the Church leaders were not even perfect then? Yet the Church has survived a long time since then with many many many good, strong and self sacrificial people guiding it…

May

Vocation – Hearing God’s call and bringing his love into the world

By Voice in the wilderness Closed

Categories: Being Frank...

I think any vocation, whether it be a lifelong one like marriage, holy orders, religious life or the single life; or whether it be a job, like labourer, scientist, polititian or garbage collector, is a call to respond to God’s love and therefore, bring it into the world.

With marriage, the couple feels the call to love God through their spouse and potentially have children. With the priesthood, the priest lays down his life, that others may have life – foregoing the ambitions of the world and serving a community. Religious life emphatically states that the person totally lays down his or her life and offers it to God through the service of others or as Benedict states :” What in fact is consecrated life other than a radical imitation of Jesus”.

I love seeing inspiring vocational stories from around the world, because they are truly stories of a response to God’s love and as a result, his love dwells among the people. I saw this story about the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who seem to be true ‘radical imitators of Jesus’. Apparently, it is in their constitution that they only establish a house in places that are known for their extreme poverty, and should the place that they are in lose that notoriety, then the Friars would leave. It seems that this would avoid a ‘comfortable’ religious life, and thus prevent them from ‘abandoning’ the vocation God has called them to. It seems that they are making a real difference. One of the Brothers sums up their mission:

Brother Shawn O’Connor said the monks’ “primary purpose” was to “take care of the spiritual and material needs of the people, to give them a real sense of hope and a sense of knowledge that God cares for them and loves them.”

Without measuring, it seems that the fruits of their presence are obvious.

So this leads me to think of my own vocation and how we here in NZ respond to God’s call.

May

“Up and atom!”

By Methuselah's Beard 5 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

When I was a kid I loved comics. I even had comics about St. Francis of Assisi and PJPII (although I never really got into Spiderham). I loved the great names and costumes the heroes and villains had. I loved going to the comic shop and opening a newly purchased comic. Peeling open the plastic covering, removing the cardboard backing, smelling that new comic smell. I always had a tough time deciding if flying, reading minds, or shooting beams out of my eyes was the better power. But as I’ve aged I’ve outgrown this love.

Oh who am I kidding I’m not a kid anymore but I still harbour a small secret soft spot for comics. When I’m in a bookstore and after having a quick browse through the sci-fi / fantasy section, a cursory look at some travel guides, and a flip through some books on ancient history, and usually end up in the graphic novel (aka longer comics) section for a thorough read of whatever series I hadn’t already read during previous visits. I like my X-Men / Avengers / Spiderman / Captain America / Iron Man and pretty much most of the titles in the Marvel stable. There was a series called ‘What If’. These were basically introduced by a large headed alien called Uatu the Watcher and went along the lines of ‘What if Spiderman joined the Fantastic Four’, ‘What if Gwen Stacy hadn’t died’, ‘What if Spiderman was bitten by a radioactive man and became Manman instead’, or titles along those lines which were all about alternative worlds and how things may change based on the decisions character made.

I was thinking recently in light of recent scandals in the Church and the troubles of the Legion, it seems like nothing is sacred and that in and instant, everything can change. So in the spirit of Uatu the Watcher, what if one day some devastating revelation or discovery showed that the Catholic Church was a sham. What if the Resurrection never happened and the growth of the Church since then was for the attainment of the usual suspects human; power, status, land, glory, and riches. How would that impact on Catholics worldwide? Obviously there would be a lot of people leaving the Church. Other ‘religions’ might spring up as people leave the institutional church. I don’t there would there be a loosening of morals as the ‘threat’ of a higher power looming over you is diminished. Probably not as people will inherently know good from bad. But there might be no more avoidance of grey areas.

Who knows. Luckily we dont live in one of those alternate realities.

May

Redistribution of Wealth

By Filia Day 4 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this on the blog before but once upon a time I was an eternal student. Yes, one of those (generally) nocturnal creatures that preferred to spend their student allowance on coffee and cigarettes, rather than buy nutritious food. My Bachelor of Art’s degree required a good 9-12 hours a week in class, so I naturally used this time well to find other likeminded people to philosophise, talk about redistribution of wealth, communism, women’s rights, and anything else that we could possibly think of that had an air of controversy about it. And, as a history & politics major, I had no trouble whatsoever finding likeminded souls – if you ask me, these subjects are breeding grounds for good conversation (and smokers).

Despite all the jokes about the worthlessness of a BA, I’ve never regretted doing it. I met some of my greatest friends during this time and have some of the best conversations. Now, 5 years on, you’ll be glad to hear, I have actually got a real job (although, truth be told I do actually work for a higher education institution, which is kind of like a little fortress protecting the former eternal student’s right to a very accommodating timetable).

Right about now, you may be wondering why I’ve just had this little rant about my time as a perpetual student. Well, the government’s budget is released this afternoon and I couldn’t help mourn the days when my friends and I would sit round that little table at Paneton Cafe in High Street and discuss, weeks in advance, with anticipation, what the budget would contain. We would debate the morality of tax increases, different educational strategies, and the extent to which the government would fund tertiary education.

One of the BIG debates we always came back to was whether forcing someone to pay taxes was as good as stealing off the rich and giving to the poor. I figure this debate is relevant today as Key has openly declared his plans to decrease the tax rate (the middle to upper-class benefiting the most, it appears at this point). While, I’m probably middle-class (but grew up in a lower class family) and will perhaps be one of the individuals really benefiting from the tax cut, I don’t hold this position and certainly won’t be swayed by such a tax incentive.

Should we rely on charities and the generosity of individuals to feed and clothe the poor? I don’t want to seem like this week’s pessimistic blogger but I don’t know if we can actually rely on individuals to give – I just don’t think we are that generous as a nation. Isn’t it the responsibility of government (our representatives) to ensure that the weakest in society are looked after and treated with the dignity they deserved? Well, I’m not entirely sure that this budget is going to do that, if you ask me (from what I’ve heard the government is going to cut).

Thoughts?

May

A bit of number-crunching

By admin Closed

Categories: Being Frank...

Greetings from the BF Admin team,

We lost another outstanding blogger last week with Tuppence’s decision to focus her energies elsewhere. Next Wednesday, the newest member of the Being Frank team will publish her first post, so we thought we’d take this week’s post to update our readers on some details of this blog’s statistics.

With publication of this message, Being Frank has now had a total of 1388 posts over almost four years
Last month, we broke through the 40,000-comment barrier. As of this morning, 40,616 comments had been approved and appeared on Being Frank
Including our new blogger starting next week, a total of 12 resident bloggers (a good biblical number) will have served on the BF team

And just a reminder that we at Icon Media, the owners of Being Frank and The 15th Station podcast network, would be keen to hear from people who have ideas for new blogs or podcasts — and especially if you’re interested in providing content for those new ventures. Contact us through the contact page on the top right corner of this page.

Thanks, and blessings,

BF Admin

May

The flaccidity of hype

By The Dumb Ox 4 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

I see that Obama’s healthcare still doesn’t provide more for abortions, and I see that Planned Parenthood isn’t opening a brand new abortion clinic in the US, oh, and I also see that they aren’t crediting Obama’s healthcare legislation with helping to open up the abortion floodgates.

And I never read the following in the Detroit News…

“An early sign of health care reform’s impact is Planned Parenthood’s decision to open a new Oakland County clinic within the next 18 months, adding to 15 locations, including Detroit, Warren and Livonia. Unlike other Detroit area centers, the new location is likely to include abortion services.

Richards [President of Planned Parenthood] and Lori Lamerand, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan, are ramping up for a boom in birth control and other reproductive services — what Lamerand calls “an onslaught” of women poised to gain new access to reproductive health care.”

I think the real lesson here is don’t look for salvation in the arms of a politician, because you ain’t gonna find it there.

Or maybe the deluded Omabalytes still believe that he’s bidding his time, just waiting for the right moment to transform into super President, save the world, and usher in a new era of peace, love and disease free, eco-efficient living?