Day: Jul 8, 2021

Information from his British Museum.

Legendary Christian saint and martyr, daughter of a pagan king of Portugal. Together with her brothers and sisters she became a Christian, but to resist marriage to a suitor chosen by her father she prayed to become unattractive: she grew a beard and moustache, her suitor was dissuaded and, as a result, her father had her crucified. She is also said to have rewarded a young fiddler for playing in front of her crucified body by giving him one of her golden boots, and by giving him the second boot when he was accused of stealing the first one. It is now assumed that her name is a corruption of ‘Hilge Vartz’ (‘holy face’) and is to be related to the ‘Volto Santo’ of Lucca, an early wooden effigy depicting Christ as a man wearing a long regal tunic, which was misinterpretated as a dress.

St Wilgefortis on the cross looks like Jesus in a dress and I’m sure many will find this offensive?

Mind you, the “trans” isdue is a bigger issue than ever with more and more men and women choosing to change to the other sex.

I have some experience in ministering to trans people.

Its a very controversial area with very strong views on either side.

Some people feel very strongly that scare NHS money should not be spent on trans surgery while the waiting lists on life saving other surgeries are surging.

Some are not willing to accept it is a medical condition at all.

Yet the doctors do accept it and call it gender dysphoria.

Patients have to jump through all kinds of hoops and live fully for two years as a member of the sex you want to change to.

My own approach is to listen and journey with people without judgement.

It is very hard for those of us who do not have gender dysphoria to fully understand.

What do readers think?

Saint Wilgefortis pray for us.

The above quote from the small Irish diocese of Clonfert is very interesting. I don’t know who thye author is but appeared on the Clomfert Facebook and a reader sent to me.

You don’t ever really hear much about Clonfert.

The comment highlights the problem facing Clonferrt and indeed all Irish dioceses at the current time:

1. People no longer attend Church in the way they did.
2. Most of those who attend are in the upper age bracket.
3. Every year the pews get emptier.
4. Parish finances are challenging almost evryywhere.
5. Some parishes can not be maintained as parishes.
6. No / few ordinations in years.
7. Priests getting older.

As you can see from the map of Ireland Clonfert only covers a tiny part of the country.

And as Mass attendance is generally better in the rural areas it is quite telling that in the rural area of Clonfert the situation is dire.

What it must be like in the towns and cities?

We are heading for a time when a very tiny minority of “catholics” will be attending church.

Add that to the dwindling and disappearance of people offering themselves for the priesthood.

Add that to the dwindling income of parishes, dioceses and the national church.

If it were happing to any other big “company” the directors would be engaged on a quick process of closing branches and making workers and managers redundant.

In the case of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland “branches” are already closing and the managers and workers will not have to made redundant – they will simply be allowed to die.

The RCC will trundle along for a while on the massive investments they own.

But when these run out there will be massive sale of buildings.

Your parish church will become you new pub or leisure centre or nightclub.

Some RCC churches will be converted into crematoria, mosques, temples and evangelical places of worship.

26 dioceses will be reduced to 3 or 4.

All schools will be run by the state or parents.

There will be as many practising Catholics in the whole country as there are now in a few big parishes.

Some are asking can the RCC in its present form be changed?

I say NO and should not be.

Some are asking if it can be changed.

I SAY no because the managers don’t want to change – and the image of the RCC globally is now one of evil.

The Irish RCC will have been destroyed not by materialism, secularism or lack of faith.

It will have been destroyed by bishops and priests – who have been arrogant, cruel, materialistic, lazy and sexually promiscuous and scandalous.

Of course, Christianity will survive.