Pretoria Catholic

The height of the summer heat is about to start fading (nooooo!!!!). The end of summer and some freedom with lower lockdown levels have meant more time for outdoor activities. I have walked into a couple of spider webs over the past few weeks (not cool). Spider webs have been quite prominent this summer and sparking my admiration for their craftsmanship in more detail.  Spiders are remarkable creatures creating elaborate and complex webs that conform to angular symmetry and precise degrees. The webs are constructed regularly. Within record time, the average spider spins a new web every day in about one hour. The webs are strategically placed and quite resistant to water damage. The nets are shiny and exquisite tools for trapping their food, but many spiders go further and decorate their webs.  Shot this spider web at a family get-together, 13 March 2021 Going to work every day can be challenging and sometimes even feel like a punishment handed down to Adam and Eve after the fa...

South Africans don't barbeque; we braai! A braai is all about the fire. The fire is the conversational starter, the entertainment when the conversation gets dry, the people magnet, and notably the heat source that gets those chops cooked to perfection. I might add that the braai is the real deal of the less superior barbeque for the unfamiliar reader. I hope I never ruffled any feathers, but just stating a fact (haha). The fire from a braai by my brother-in-law, 21 February 2021 A braai starts out as a plan to set a date with some good friends to come together and socialise. The success of the braai is measured by the quality of the fire. An authentic South African is very picky about how their fire should be prepped. Some prefer, as I do, to create a pyramid of coals, while others prefer a flatter structure. The firelighters are then strategically placed between the coals for optimal heat distribution. Once ready, the firelighters are ignited, and the dusty coals begin to smoke. T...

I have been working from home for about 11 months due to COVID-19 restrictions, and that means more time to notice things I would ordinarily not pay attention to in the house. I was sitting behind my laptop, and the mental strain forced me to look up into space eagerly, hoping to somehow figure out the problem at hand. As I gazed up, I looked into the fluorescent tube and noticed some moths trapped inside the casing. I started wondering why a moth would be so attracted to the light to the detriment of its life? Fluorescent tube, 1 February 2021 It turns out that the moth's behavior seems to be a scientific mystery (well, it would seem, from my minimal research). Moths attracted to light can use the moon or stars to orientate their flying track. I will leave the science to the experts. Still, this scientific mystery sheds some light on the mystery of the communion of saints.  If we assume for a moment, two states, first, me at my desk representing all those on earth (with both body ...

Earlier this month, I helped my mother-in-law cut down two 18-year-old conifer trees from her garden. My weapon of choice was a machete and the determination of a brave warrior in a fierce battle. After multiple and significant strikes to the old tree trunk, the tree became top-heavy and unable to hold itself upright. It came tumbling down like a scene out of David and Goliath.  Cutting down a tree can be lots of fun and make any man feel like a little boy again, but the idea of bringing down a tree that has stood tall and healthy can be quite sad to witness. As the outer bark is stripped away and the blade lacerates the inner bark, the lifeline through which food is passed to the rest of the tree shows signs of distress, and before you know it, the tree is dead.  Tree stump before my final blow, 9 January 2021 I thought that the imagery around tree felling is an ideal way of understanding what it means to commit a mortal sin. As I prepared to bring the trees down, there were ...

Two weeks ago, I took my Jack Russel Spike to the vet for a dental extraction. He lives up to his name as he is quite snappy and so visits to the vet involve a muzzle. The vet had to sedate Spike to examine his mouth. After a shot with the injection, I held Spike in the waiting room for him to doze off.  Suddenly, he started foaming at the mouth, hyperventilating, and drooping in my arms. I placed Spike on the floor, with his legs sprawled entirely out and his tongue hung from the side of his mouth. Thinking something did not seem right, my Dad called a nurse who was walking past. She immediately rushed to Spike, picked him up, and carried him into the operating room. I could see the Doctor requesting an oxygen device through the window as the staff looked to see what was wrong with him.  I could not help but start tearing up and feeling overwhelmed with emotion. I had to walk outside and try to compose myself. I guess it was the emotion of losing my best friend in that same v...

A month ago, my wife, my 4-month-old son and I prepared to take our first holiday as a family to the north coast. As the departure day approached, we were like little children struggling to contain our excitement for a holiday at the sea. We would help feed the craving of our imaginations, by dreaming about how we would run and dive into the sea or sleep to the sound of the crushing waves in the distance. With a week to go our imaginations could no longer feed the craving. The eager anticipation of actually having our feet buried in the sand or having the fresh sea breeze running through our hair needed to become a reality.   A road trip with a little baby involves lots of planning and surprisingly a lot of packing from carry cots, to extra outfits, to a good supply of nappies…. And then comes trying to arrange the car boot to fit all the luggage, pram and all the odds and ends. Eagerly and early on a Monday morning in November, we were off before the sunrise for our first fam...