Welcome 2012
01 Jan 2012 2 Comments
Welcome to January 1st. In the “Land of the Long Weekend” this is the day to recover from the NYE parties and celebrations. It’s a day at the beach or home with a ‘Barby“.
The Church struggles to get a full house on this day although there is a bonus when it falls on a Sunday as has happened this year. In good old Catholic Tradition this day was known as the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord. Yes, it is the only Catholic feast for a medical procedure. As with all great Biblical accounts there is a picture gallery available on Google.
Circumcision gets some pretty good press in the Scriptures as a popular practice and metaphor. By the time you have worked through the Hebrew Scriptures and made your way to some of Paul’s letters you get to the most cutting of his statements: “Beware of the cutters,” (Ph.3:2). So, there you have it, time to stop infant circumcision!! If Paul was around today he would probably join one of the Facebook pages against infant circumcision.
Thanks to this feast we also have a great new word for scrabble: prepuce. The Holy Prepuce or the story of the foreskin relics is another contribution of Catholicism to the religious entertainment industry. It seems that we can also learn a bit from Michelangelo about this practice.
The United Nations Theme for 2012: The International Year of Cooperatives
In Australia we will celebrate The National Year of Reading
And to sing in this New Year I suggest we can do nothing better than join the chorus of We Are the Many
The 12 Days of Christmas
31 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: 12 days of christmas, christmas day, days of christmas, holy innocents
As we celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas I invite you to visit my Holy Irritant Blog for reflections on each of these days.
Second Day of Christmas:The Essential Nativity Extra
Third Day of Christmas A Holy Day for Queers
Fourth Day of Christmas : The Holy Innocents
Gifts That Celebrate Christmas
10 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Events, Uncategorized Tags: East Timor, From Little things Big Things Grow, Timor Leste
The children of Delecu in Timor Leste have written and illustrated a lovely book. The story of the book is itself an amazing tale of cross cultural experience. When Katrina Powell read ”From Little things Big Things Grow” to her class in Delecu she had no idea it would unleash a new partnership of language and community as her students took the text and story and made it their own.
The Kev Carmody/Paul Kelly iconic song From Little Things Big Things Grow is now an inspiration for the dreams of a new generation of kids in Timor Leste.
Edita de Jesus one of the young students and teacher Katrina Powell spoke about the inspiration of the Gurindji people, having chalk for school and going shopping in Brisbane, during their book launch tour here in Australia.
You can purchase this book online. Funds raised from sales will assist the Edmund Rice Primary School and distribution in East Timor.
Just Dates December
30 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
Just Dates November
31 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in Events
06 International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict / Grandparents Day
14 World Diabetes Day
16 International Day of Tolerance
19 International Men’s Day
20 World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims Universal Children’s Day, / Africa Industrialization Day
21 World Television Day
25 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women / White Ribbon Day
29 International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
Just Dates October
02 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
Anxiety and Depression Awareness Month
1 International Day for Older Persons
4-10 World Space Week
9-15 Mental Health Week
13 International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
16-22 Anti-Poverty Week /National Nutrition Week
17 Sock It To Suicide/International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
21-30 Queensland Children’s Week
24-30 Disarmament Week
Tony at the BWF and Brisbane Festival
02 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
in Brisbane Festival, Community, Events Tags: BWF
Follow the excitement, the people and the perfomances at the Brisbane Writers Festival and the Brisbane Festival with my reviews on Critical Mass.
Join the discussions and share your reflections and experiences of the festival month!!
Just Dates September
02 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
10 World Suicide Prevention Day
12-18 National Stroke Week
15 International Day of Democracy
16 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
For more local events and opportunities to celebrate Community check my events blog!!
Just Dates August
27 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment



