Pretoria Catholic

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true." (Steve Jobs) AfroBoer Coffee Shop, 16 November 2023 Death is a part of life. We are created in God's image and likeness, and so a spark of God exists in all of us, meaning our death is not the end of the road as it would be for a mosquito between the palms of our hands. We were created with a body and a soul. God is eternal, and so He has created us for eternity, giving us a soul. Death is the bridge between our life on earth and our eternal life. However, it is scary and daunting to ...

In a world where we struggle to do a lot without access to the internet, we clearly notice when we are disconnected. Our WiFi router was down recently, which means you can't do much on your phone as the network connection in my area is poor. Working on my laptop without WiFi becomes challenging, given that so much work is stored in the "cloud", and the TV becomes useless without the internet.  Pretoria, 22 March 2023 I spent time trying to reset the router, turning it on and off, triple-checking the cables properly, and waiting on call centres listening to monotonous music with no one answering. Then I gave up and tried glancing occasionally to check if the internet light returned. Eventually, frustrated, I lost hope in trying and accepted it was not coming back. Then, 30 minutes later, to my surprise, I noticed the WiFi icon returned to my phone, and the internet was back! "Yay, the power is back", Noah and Leo shout when electricity returns after two-hour load...

Noah and Leo (my sons) are starting to love the Disney classics, proven by how many times they want to watch the same movie repeatedly. One of those is Lion King; as a millennial, that was a childhood classic we grew up with. However, watching the same film more than 20 years later, you notice things you previously missed, which is the depth of some of these classics.  The movie opens with a popular song which speaks about new life as little Simba is born and the path of life that will lead us back to our resting place (we can insert heaven in there). "It's the circle of life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love 'Til we find our place On the path unwinding In the circle The circle of life"  (Circle of Life, Lion King) So far, the previous six blogs have addressed misconceptions about the first six sacraments: baptism, confession, Holy Communion, confirmation, marriage and holy orders. The last of the seven sacraments is the anointing of ...

I took a walk recently, and there are some open plots nearby. The one property has stables, and the horse roam free, grazing the grass. The horses are free and large enough to clear the fence, but they remain obediently confined to their grazing area.  Horses on a plot, 31 July 2023 Sometimes freedom can seem to the world to explore what is beyond that fence and do what you want with no consequences. However, the horse is exposed to grave dangers beyond the fence and will grow hungry, thirsty and tired. The fence is not a way of imprisoning the horse but rather a healthy boundary that signifies the true freedom and protection of the horse. Our Lord called apostles by asking them to leave behind their former livelihoods and begin anew. Some said yes and followed him through the narrow gate into that fence, leading them to eternal life. Others said no, as the prospect of entering the gate seemed like a loss of freedom, and instead, they preferred the false freedom of the comfort of l...

How do we pinpoint the moment in life that makes us an adult? We all grow from tiny little and totally dependent babies on our parents to very quickly learn to speak, eat and talk. We go to school to gain knowledge and acquire life experience. Then before you know it, we pursue a specific field of work. Many find a spouse and start a new family; some take other paths that God may call them to. However, the question remains where precisely in this very ordinary journey of life do we mark the defining point of childhood to adulthood?  Three generations, 11 June 2023 Think of a tree that towers over the skies casting shade from the scorching sun and offering branches of shelter and protection. Although the tree may be fully grown, it remains the same tree that was once a tiny seed that fell to the ground, watered, and given the proper nourishment. That preparation which all began with a small seed needing only warmth, food and water, was always the groundwork to someday branch out as ...

Last weekend we went away to Emalahleni Dam with family. I braved it and joined my Dad and uncle on a very early morning fishing session. We were up before sunrise, dressed warm, and launched the boat on the water by 05:30. Now I’ve tried it only twice before and my track record of catching fish averages a nice big zero.  Emalahleni (place of coal) Dam, 22 April 2023 (05:58) I went in with some enthusiasm. At the peak of dawn the temperature was relatively warm and as the sun starts breaking the darkness the wind and cooler air begin to pierce your skin. An hour of casting the rod proved fruitless. Yet, large fish teased us, jumping through the water all around the boat. In the quiet of the breaking dawn and as you begin to shrug off the tiredness of waking early, the surroundings are quiet. You simply hear the sound of nature all around. The only sound that breaks the natural silence is the repetition of casting the fishing line and hearing the drop of the bait land in the water....

Time flies! On the 25th of March, three months had passed since Christmas 2022. Also, this marked the celebration of the Annunciation of the Angel to Mary precisely nine months before Christmas 2023. Lent is now almost over as we enter the Last Supper, followed by the sorrow of Good Friday and end with the joy of Easter Sunday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.  Scuola Grande di San Rocco Museum, Venice Lent prepares us to recall where the Mass began and not something a random Catholic thought up for dramatic effect. Let's go back about 1990 years ago to the year 33. It was in a large upper room filled with twelve apostles with all their eyes fixed on Jesus at the centre of the table. There he sat and taught his apostles their final lesson before he prepared for His death. The room was probably prepared with light and filled with the aroma of wild herbs, salt water, unleavened bread, wine, and the meat of the sacrificial lamb. Why this special occasion? The Jews were celebratin...

I did some bonsai maintenance last week. Bonsai, translated from Japanese, means "planted in a container", and it's the art of growing miniature trees. The trees can be very mature in age but remain miniature as they remain confined to the pot. Getting this right requires treating it like any tree except that you also prune and maintain the root system to not grow out of control as a tree in the ground would do and sometimes become destructive. The art of creating beautiful designs and shapes comes from trimming the roots, which allows new growth in the tree that would not have otherwise been possible.  Trimming the roots of a young bonsai, February 2023 Many people may find the art of growing bonsai unorthodox and far removed from reality. Still, it has been around for thousands of years. Catholics' practice of confession is very much the same. Many Christians think confessing your sins to a priest is something made up and frankly quite strange. The most common quest...

We watched the latest "Avatar: The Way of Water" movie. The almost three and half hour movie was worth every minute, and without giving away spoiler alerts, there are a few points I would like to draw on.  Sunrise at the South Coast, 29 November 2022 (05:23) "The Na'vi say that every person is born twice. The second is when you earn your place among the people, forever." After giving birth, the Na'vi people present their child to Eywa, their great mother or goddess. She connects all living things, and upon death, all return to her.  The journey of becoming a Christian requires a few elements: (i) we proclaim the Word, (ii) we accept the Gospel, (iii) we profess the faith, (iv) we are baptised with the Holy Spirit and (v) we are admitted to Eucharistic communion.  How can an infant proclaim the Word and accept the Gospels or teachings of the faith? An infant's intellect cannot reason and understand these things. However, God borrows us children, and throu...