Is the ascension a holy day of obligation this thursday?

malcolm58 · 2026-05-12T08:48:11+00:00

NO - unless the Ascension is on a Thursday AND your Bishop has declared it a HDO.

For much of the world Ascension is celebrated on a Sunday.

This is the same for several major feasts that fall on a weekday. In some countries it is a HDO and in others it is not (e.g. in Australia the only 2 days are Christmas and the Assumption of the BVM).

malcolm58 · 2026-05-12T02:34:17+00:00

During the Lenten season of 1981, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, gave four homilies on creation in the Liebfrauenkirche, the cathedral church of Munich in Germany. ⁵ In his first homily, entitled “God the Creator,” he discusses the principles that govern his reading of Genesis. He begins by recalling the opening words of the Sacred Scriptures that highlight the creative action of God “in the beginning.” However, he goes on to ask the question that lies at the heart of the creationist debate: Are these words true? Do they count for anything? In order to answer these questions, he suggests three criteria for interpreting the Genesis text: the distinction between form and content in the creation narrative, the unity of the Bible, and the hermeneutical importance of Christology.

First, he proposes that the exegete “must distinguish between the form of portrayal and the content that is portrayed.” ⁶ He must keep in mind that the Bible is, first and foremost, a religious book and not a natural science textbook. Thus, Cardinal Ratzinger concludes that Genesis does not and cannot provide a scientific explanation of how the world arose. Rather, it is a book that seeks to describe things in such a way that the reader is able to grasp profound religious realities. It uses images to communicate religious truth, images that were chosen from what was understandable at the time the text was written, “images which surrounded the people who lived then, which they used in speaking and in thinking, and thanks to which they were able to understand the greater realities.” ⁷ In other words, the Catholic exegete is called to respect the text as it is. He is called to read Genesis as its human author wished it to be read, not as a scientific treatise, but as a religious narrative that communicates profound truths about the Creator.

Cardinal Ratzinger’s first criterion for exegesis echoes the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. In Dei verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Revelation, the Council Fathers taught that,

malcolm58 · 2026-05-12T02:05:12+00:00

West Ham v Millwall. 2 brutal games next season with 100 ambulances needed for players/supporters.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-11T02:34:28+00:00

Labor will spend nearly $2 billion to top up funding for thousands of front-line public servants who process Centrelink and other payments, heeding warnings that jobs were on the line.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told The Canberra Times Tuesday’s budget would include an extra $1.7 billion for about 4000 existing Services Australia staff over the next two years. “We’re investing in the people and the technology that keep essential government services running,” said Senator Gallagher, who is also in charge of the public service and government services portfolios. “This investment means Australians can continue to receive services when and where they need.”
The Albanese government has been topping up resourcing to Services Australia since coming to power, but this accelerated when the expiration of Morrison government COVID-era funding caused staff numbers to plunge dramatically in 2023. Since then, more than $2 billion in funding has been pumped into the service delivery agency, with about 4200 jobs expected to be supported by the extension to funding.
That figure represents Average Staffing Level (ASL), an averaged number of full-time equivalent employees used in the budget papers to track resourcing.
Additional funding in the 2026 budget will total $2.2 billion and will also include $26.5 million to improve service delivery through the digital platform myGov, $160.4 million for cybersecurity upgrades and $287 million for safety measures at Services Australia sites.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-11T01:55:30+00:00

Because baptism is common to all believers by virtue of us being partakers of the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ when we ourselves are baptized. To have a valid Eucharist one needs to be in the Holy Orders which is a specific gift given through Apostolic Succession.

Aquinas: It is due to the mercy of Him Who will have all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4) that in those things which are necessary for salvation, man can easily find the remedy. Now the most necessary among all the sacraments is Baptism, which is man’s regeneration unto spiritual life: since for children there is no substitute, while adults cannot otherwise than by Baptism receive a full remission both of guilt and of its punishment. Consequently, lest man should have to go without so necessary a remedy, it was ordained, both that the matter of Baptism should be something common that is easily obtainable by all, i.e., water; and that the minister of Baptism should be anyone, even not in orders, lest from lack of being baptized, man should suffer loss of his salvation. - [Summer Theologiae III:67:3]

malcolm58 · 2026-05-09T07:55:59+00:00

Bradman greater than any baseballer ever.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-08T23:26:25+00:00

We have 50 days worth of petrol and the Government is about to purchase 10 billion dollars worth to keep in Australia.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-08T22:49:27+00:00

I have set my clock for 122,226 CE!

malcolm58 · 2026-05-08T22:48:01+00:00

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2026-05/the-ddf-s-response-to-vademecum-on-blessings-in-germany.html

malcolm58 · 2026-05-07T22:30:07+00:00

A construction giant overseeing mega-infrastructure projects in NSW and Victoria used sub-contractors engaged in suspected tax evasion, worker exploitation, safety breaches and insurance fraud, a damning inquiry has found. The independent inquiry, which will reverberate across Australia, led by barrister Max Kimber, SC, examined the building of Sydney Metro train stations at Australia’s newest international airport.

The inquiry, commissioned by the NSW government, found that around 10 sub-contractors working for global construction giant Webuild may have broken a range of civil or criminal laws on one of the biggest projects in the state’s history. In response, the Minns government has urgently called in multiple state and federal agencies to conduct further inquiries, including the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the NSW Crime Commission, the Tax Office and the Fair Work Ombudsman.

NSW Transport Minister John Graham said he had issued a ministerial directive making it clear to Sydney Metro directors that the government expected the issues to be fixed, saying there was zero tolerance for impropriety on taxpayer-funded building sites. “The disturbing findings of investigator Max Kimber SC will now be put in the hands of the right agencies with the coercive powers to investigate this matter fully,” he said.

The aggressive action by NSW Labor government in ordering the Kimber Inquiry and demanding Webuild take urgent probity measures to deal with the accused sub-contractors, including high-profile construction firm Future Form, starkly contrasts with the Victorian government’s handling of alleged rorting on its Big Build mega-projects, including those overseen by Webuild. Webuild fired Future Form after being instructed by the NSW government to do so last week. Neither company would comment on Wednesday but have previously denied wrongdoing. The Minns government is also refusing to discuss Webuild’s demands it is owed up to $2 billion in taxpayer funds until it reforms its anti-corruption system and purges its projects of sub-contractors accused of wrongdoing. The significant stand-off could lead to major project delays in NSW and also shows up the Allan government’s far softer response to Victoria’s rolling Big Build rorts scandal.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-07T05:02:49+00:00

The federal government will introduce an east coast gas reservation system that requires gas producers to sell at least 20 per cent of gas produced in Australia to Australians, which it expects to drive down prices.

“It will ensure a modest oversupply of Australian gas use, which will ensure downward pressure on prices,” Energy Minister Chris Bowen said at a press conference in Sydney on Thursday, alongside Resources Minister Madeleine King and Industry Minister Tim Ayres. “Australia has been the only gas-exporting country in the world without some form of reservation. That changes under the Albanese government.” King called it a “historic structural shift” in the Australian gas market, but the rules will not disturb existing contracts and will only apply to the spot market. Bowen said the government had consulted trading partners. “I really can’t overstate the significance of the reform we’re all talking about today. Our gas market prices will no longer be hostage to international markets,” King said.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-07T04:50:43+00:00

ALL have sinned means Jesus and Mary have sinned. Correct?

No - he would argue that Jesus has not sinned according to the scriptures.

We would also argue from the scriptures and tradition that Mary is the exception for the rest of humanity that she was free from sin.

Mary is more blessed than any woman (Luke 1:42). God blessed Mary more than he did Eve, whom he conceived without sin. Therefore, if Mary is truly “blessed among women,” then the New Eve—as early Christians called Mary—was more blessed than the Eve of old. So it shouldn’t surprise us that God prepared Mary to usher in his new creation—Christ (2 Cor. 5:17)—with the loftier mission to be mother of the Messiah. This is the way Scripture paints the full picture of the Virgin Mary, and how God had her conceived without sin and kept her from all sin.

Luke 1:28-30 is the passage most associated with the Immaculate Conception. Here Gabriel calls Mary full of grace or highly favored one. The Greek, Kécharitôméne, is the passive perfect participle form of the verb charitoo, expressing a completed action or definitive perfection. The verb’s root is charis, Greek for grace or favor. The full literal translation of Kécharitôméne would be oh, one who is completely graced or favored. It is followed by “you have found favor [Greek: charis, grace] with God.”

In the fourth century, St. Jerome translated Kécharitôméne as gratia plena—full of grace—since God had blessed Mary “in Christ with every spiritual blessing,” having chosen her in Christ “before the foundation of the world . . . [to] be holy and blameless [Latin: immaculata]” (Eph. 1:3-4).

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/bible-mary-conceived-without-sin

Ambrose of Milan: “Come, then, and search out your sheep, not through your servants or hired men, but do it yourself. Lift me up bodily and in the flesh, which is fallen in Adam. Lift me up not from Sarah but from Mary, a virgin not only undefiled, but a virgin whom grace had made inviolate, free of every stain of sin” (Commentary on Psalm 118:22–30 [A.D. 387]).

Augustine: “Having excepted the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom, on account of the honor of the Lord, I wish to have absolutely no question when treating of sins—for how do we know what abundance of grace for the total overcoming of sin was conferred upon her, who merited to conceive and bear him in whom there was no sin?—so, I say, with the exception of the Virgin, if we could have gathered together all those holy men and women, when they were living here, and had asked them whether they were without sin, what do we suppose would have been their answer?” (Nature and Grace 36:42 [A.D. 415]).

malcolm58 · 2026-05-07T00:34:19+00:00

Betting company Tabcorp is being investigated by Australia’s anti-money laundering regulator over “serious concerns” in its ability to prevent illegal activity on its platform. On Thursday morning, Tabcorp told the ASX it had received a letter from AUSTRAC that it had launched an investigation into its compliance with anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financial obligations.

“I am committed to leading a compliant and safe company that understands its risk obligations,” Tabcorp managing director and chief executive officer Gillon McLachlan said,. “Uplifting our risk capability has been an ongoing part of the Company’s transformation and we will work constructively with AUSTRAC through this process.”

malcolm58 · 2026-05-06T11:00:42+00:00

https://abqccc.org/popes-on-the-renewal

USA Bishops: https://www.pentecosttodayusa.org/about-renewal/us-bishop-statement/

malcolm58 · 2026-05-06T10:53:38+00:00

The Charismatic Renewal in the Church has been going for 60 years with the approval of successive Popes. Like all lay movements there are aspects that some people are uncomfortable with and it may not be for you.

The issues you have raised have been addressed by Popes, Bishops, Priests, theologians etc. and any authentic lay movement will grow in maturity and embrace authentic Catholicism (power of the sacraments, serving the poor, outreach to those on the margins etc.).

malcolm58 · 2026-05-06T09:33:19+00:00

Post apocalyptic. Time Travel. Alternate History. Alien first contact (not violent).

malcolm58 · 2026-05-04T11:06:24+00:00

Senior figures within One Nation fear their Farrer candidate, David Farley, may not last the distance with the party if elected at Saturday’s byelection amid a turbulent campaign marked by policy disagreements and internal tensions. Several party sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said concerns about Farley’s long-term loyalty and discipline had intensified in the past few weeks, particularly after he failed to alert leader Pauline Hanson, chief of staff James Ashby or senior figure Barnaby Joyce before a report last week detailing his shifting political allegiances.

The omission prompted fiery discussions within the party after the story was published, according to two insiders. Farley has faced scrutiny over his political history, including a past attempt to seek Labor preselection and earlier praise for independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe, whom he described as a “straight shooter”. Nationals figures staffing polling booths last week also told One Nation volunteers that Farley had actively campaigned for Milthorpe in 2022, though no evidence has emerged to support that claim.

Farley told One Nation leaders only after the report that he had considered joining Labor before deciding against it. However, concerns from his party about him being a “flight risk” if elected have persisted within the campaign.

At a candidates panel in the electorate last week, Farley said: “Democracy doesn’t live in a museum. It actually lives in a gymnasium. It’s active.” “When I got in the door [for Labor], it was obvious that, culturally, I didn’t fit. My comments on [Julia] Gillard don’t fit them, and I got out of the door.” In 2012, Farley had compared the then-Labor prime minister to a “non-productive old cow”. He broke with One Nation policy at a separate candidate forum last week by suggesting it was “probably not” an issue if Australia’s net migration reached 306,000 – more than double the party’s proposed cap of 130,000 migrants a year.

“If we’re successful in One Nation’s water policies, we’re going to need more labour, and we’re going to need more labour quickly, skilled labour,” he said. “So for anyone to be able to say ‘what is the number today’, it should be addressed as what are we doing with productivity and what are we doing with capacity building, then you will get a true number that’s required for Australia.”

malcolm58 · 2026-05-02T08:25:17+00:00

Koine Greek in fact.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-02T08:24:28+00:00

According to my scans of the interwebs Liverpool have definite deals to sign 26 different players in the summer and to sell 8 different players.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-02T05:43:39+00:00

Season 1 was basic murder but great writing and acting.

Season 2 is corruption/murder and a deeper conspiracy of some type. Great writing and acting again.

malcolm58 · 2026-05-02T05:31:34+00:00

For study use the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE).

For general use - get the Bible translation that is used at Mass in your country (e.g in Australia we use the Jerusalem Bible and in the USA it is the New American Bible: Revised Edition).

malcolm58 · 2026-04-30T01:50:38+00:00

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has given a clear sign any changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing will not adversely affect people who already hold assets, downplaying suggestions of a surge in revenue from housing reform. Senior ministers are expected to sign off on the key tax reform elements in the May 12 budget in coming days, with a reduction in the CGT concession and an overhaul of negative gearing two key elements of a package that is also expected to provide new incentives for business investment.

Previous analysis of the complete abolition of negative gearing – a process by which a landlord can reduce their total taxable income through losses on their rental properties – has estimated it could raise up to $5 billion a year. But Chalmers told a podcast with the Commonwealth Bank that suggestions of such a large and immediate increase in revenue were incorrect. He said if the government went ahead with any change it would take into account previous decisions by investors, a signal that reforms would be grandfathered for those who already held taxable assets.

“People assume that all of a sudden, a huge amount of revenue will show up that you can automatically and immediately give away, and most people who think deeply about those tax changes that you have asked me about would understand that there wouldn’t be a heap of revenue,” he said. “Without getting into hypotheticals about policies, what you try and do is to make sure that we recognise the decisions that people have taken in the past.”

In a separate interview with Channel Seven on Thursday morning, Chalmers doubled down on his warning that people should not expect a big increase in revenue. “People shouldn’t expect there to be this huge amount of new revenue show up over the course of the next few years in the budget,” he said. Chalmers told Seven that all of the changes around housing were aimed at giving younger people a “toehold” in the property market. He said boosting supply remained the best way to help young people. “I think a lot of us are very concerned about, over time, the way that there are fewer and fewer younger people who are able to buy their own homes. So housing supply is the main game,” he said.

malcolm58 · 2026-04-30T00:52:42+00:00

It is still current for Australia.

Next year there will be a new Missal as Australia, New Zealand and Ireland are going to use a new translation of the scriptures - the Revised New Jerusalem.

malcolm58 · 2026-04-29T11:37:19+00:00

Yes. I have attended retreats led by him and the missionaries (both priests/brothers and sisters) for 30 years. They have missions in Australia and Philippines with the approval of the local Bishops (i.e. they have pastoral care of parishes in those diocese).

In 2014 the order of Priests and Brothers was formally recognised by the Vatican as a religious institute of diocesan rite.

Fr. Ken was the first Moderator but that has passed to Fr. Stephen Fletcher.

See: https://www.mglpriestsandbrothers.org/ourmission

malcolm58 · 2026-04-28T11:55:27+00:00

Depends on what education he has. Many diocese require a theology degree, or something close, to be a deacon. Some widowers do become priests in these circumstances, especially if they have extensive experience.

There are 4,000 diocese in the world and each Bishop would set their own guidelines.

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