Phil went off to India more than sixty years ago at the age of just 20 to become a missionary. He stayed there for more than fifty years living and learning from the local people of the lower castes. The many experiences he related from his days living with the Indian tribes were always ‘informing’.

However, on one recent occasion at the same time that Pope Francis was in South America, he spoke of personal ‘Freedom’, a concept that clearly resonates with me:

In South America this past week, in his home, Pope Francis seemed unbound, liberated to speak his mind.

He seemed, in a word, free. 
 
 
Fr Phil went on:

‘Freedom’ . . . is the hallmark Jesuit virtue.

Not piety, as some might think.

Not scholarship, as others may believe.

But freedom.

The freedom to be who you are,

to say what you believe and, above all,

to proclaim the Good News.

Fr Phil Crotty SJ

From the Gold Coast to Brisbane I was more than fêted during this past week.

Straight to the trawlerman from the airport to get the Spanner crabs

God's gift from the sea

I may have watched on lazily as Anne shelled the four of them as my ‘home-coming’ treat, but I was put to work a couple of nights later under Trevor’s watchful eye with the butterflied leg of lamb and Mediterranean vegetables on the BBQ.

It was reassuring to see that Trev’s recent health scare with a stroke that had him in hospital for 5 days hadn’t got in the way of his healthy appetite. Thankfully he is on the road to full recovery again.

Shamelessly, I say that the three of us demolished nearly 1kg of spanner crab meat.

After the Gold Coast sojourn, it’s into the car to drive to Brisbane where Mark and Jenny hosted host us to lunch at their Brisbane home to celebrate Tony’s 82nd birthday – a repast that carries-on through to 8.40 pm.

Toasting Tony and Ruth to mark Tony's 82nd birthday

Nieces Emily and Lucy came over after breakfast to say hello to their aunt and uncles along with Andrew's wife Meghann, and her two littlies.

And this morning, nieces Emily and Lucy came over after breakfast to say hello to their aunt and uncles along with Andrew’s wife Meghann, and her two littlies. Lovely to catch-up after so long.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTO ALBUM

Not sure if Bill remembers that his old uncle has been keeping tabs on the ‘life of Jude’ in pictures since he was born in 2010.

The posts languish away on a joint blogger account and only get added to when I take the effort.

I for one find it interesting to look back, and you can too. PLEASE CLICK HERE.

My grand nephew Jude is 6-weeks old. Grandma and grandpa Tony and Ruth have come from Brisbane to see the first born of their first born. Eddy is visiting from London.

It's good to look back to 2010 Bill when things were so carefree. The joys of fatherhood!

Music may have been in the children’s blood, but the only thing on their minds then was to get an education and to rise above the life that their parents had to endure under Indonesian occupation.

M

usic forms a great part of Timorese life, as does the Liturgy. But nothing prepared me for the ceremony, and standard of singing by today’s talented students that I so enjoyed at this Opening Mass of the new Railaco parish church dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, and at the Confirmation Mass for 700 candidates outdoors the following day.

I share below a three-minute video of the Opening Procession.

Imagine: This is a community in a remote setting in the mountains outside Dili, East Timor.

Sr Rina sings while conducting the choir

Village chieftains and elders welcomed the bishop and the guests with a chant invoking the names of their ancestors signalling the formal reception of the honourable guests by the whole community along with their ancestors. The chant which reverberates to the silent crowd is loaded with thanksgiving and joyful praise for the special day.

The big day started with the congregation gathering on the street to welcome the Bishop about to arrive.

At the end of the Opening Mass, his Proclamation advising that Railaco is to be canonically elevated to the status of full parish draws rapturous applause.

A clearly excited parish priest Fr Phuong after hearing the Bishop's Proclamation conferring full parish status on the Railaco parish.

This has been the dream of the parish priest, Fr Joseph Phuong SJ. Fr Joseph’s flock in the surrounding sub-districts of Railaco, has been the focus of his hard work since coming to Timor. He trained catechists in the villages and devotes his ministry to encouraging the youth and families.

Today, one-thousand people have come to be part of this big event. And all will stay on, to share in the Festa. Six cows have been killed by the villagers who unite to prepare the feast and feed the masses.

M

y previous visits to Railaco have been focussed on the humanitarian activities of the parish.

Over time, I have become very attached to the people, so it is very rewarding personally when I can come, visit the school, and accompany the volunteers on the mobile medical clinic and children’s feeding program and feel at home. That feeling is no stronger than at meal times when I can join Fr Joseph, Fr Bong and other Jesuits, understand what situations they’re grappling with, and be welcomed as one of them.

On the Sunday morning, I came to the breakfast room to find the Bishop sitting there and ready for a chat. There was also a huge tray of mushroom omelette and a basket of fresh bread rolls made by the novices in the nearby convent brought across for us to enjoy.

When I first saw the Bishop 'stirring the earthenware pot', I thought it was a nod to Timorese tradition, but I learned later from Sr Dolores it is an Old Testament tradition, based on the Isaiah story of the burning coals using incense to purify the people and the new church.

Families of all ages turned-up for the opening

Fr Joseph and Fr Bong on each side of me in this photo taken at the end of the weekend

Michael has an opportunity to chat with Bishop da Silva

I have many more photos with captions that let you scroll through and see so much more. PLEASE CLICK HERE to view Google Photo Album.

You can also view the blog for all my East Timor posts since 2009. PLEASE CLICK HERE.

In more recent times, when it comes to planning holidays, another good friend and oft’ travelling partner Edmundo and I have come to the conclusion that we like a minimum of three days in any place, preferably more.

Now, in this past week, I get to perfect the art of holidaying even more, with another ex-Amex friend, Frank. We may have had only three days in a place, but we scheduled breakfast for nine, and didn’t leave for sightseeing before 10.30. Civilised! And always back in time for a lie-down before dinner.

Even with reduced ‘hours’ on the road, you’ll see in these photo albums that we managed to cram in a lot of sightseeing (and eating!) into six days touring four of the Hanseatic cities in the north of Germany.

Michael and Frank in Stralsund

Of greater significance in world history though is 500-year ‘trading’ connection from 12th to 17th centuries of free, independent cities, primarily in Germany.  During this week on the road, we’re visiting four of them – Hamburg, Lubeck, Wismar and Stralsund.

These were known as Hansa cities of which Lubeck was the ‘pearl’. Because of the free trade, those cities got so rich.

Collectively the Hansa cities supported each other fighting pirates, pestilence, plague and other challenges, with trade remaining as the major focus.

Teresa May and Donald Trump could learn lessons from ‘history’ and re-think their isolationist strategies.

Sailing up the Thames before dawn and under Tower Bridge to dock by HMS Belfast right opposite the Tower of London is an experience for even the most jaded travellers to beat

Arriving in London under Tower Bridge

Indeed lucky to be heading off to the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo tonight, with reserved seats in the Royal Enclosure.

We take a novel route to the Castle under the leadership of a humorous Scot, John. Leaving the Silver Wind, with the hills of Fyfe looming hazily across the Forth, we drive past the building that inspired J K Rowling to develop Hogwart’s School – Fettes College, where Tony Blair went to school.

Seeing the old honey-coloured sandstone stone buildings of 19th century, now coloured to crepuscular grey, in the ‘New Town’, which was developed to get away from the smog and coal dust from Edinburgh. Makes me want to return and see more. Palace front stone terraces with grand porticoes in the centre surround private gardens of established green in the Squares, with gas lights.

Our convoy gathers for a security check at the start of the ‘Royal Mile’, and with motor cycle Police escort we make the steep climb to the reach the Royal Box overlooking the Esplanade of the Castle.

The spectacle of 9,000 people gathered in the stands and the excitement as the massed pipes of the regiments come streaming out of the entrance to the Castle ‘like a conjurer pulling coloured ribbons from the sleeve’, bagpipes swirling. Bands of many countries perform not only band music but also dances reflecting the cultures of their countries. These include India, France, and the USA.

An unexpected spot of entertainment was the singing of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ with the finale sung by a soprano from the Japanese Armed Forces. The video is included in these pictures.

Then, high up in castle battlements everything goes dark; a sole piper appears playing a soul-stirring lament; followed with lines from Sir Walter Scott’s ‘Lay of the Last Minstrel’, and for effect, spoken in darkness.

“Land of the mountain and the flood,
Land of my sires! what mortal hand
Can e’er untie the filial band,
That knits me to thy rugged strand!
Scotland. Scotland the Brave!”

. . . and bagpipes swirl and fireworks explode filling the sky.

Last week Prince Charles and Prince William took the Salute. Tonight it is a French Rear-Admiral. After the performance, we joined the ‘brass and braid’ set for a Champagne and Canapés Reception before driving back to Silver Wind.

CLICK HERE to see Photo Album

WE TAKE THE SLOW ROAD . . . TO THE BONNIE BONNIE BANKS.
We weren’t going to let the grey and dreichy day spoil our excursion from the ship to the west of Scotland. Lunch in front of a log fire in an old Scottish coaching inn near the banks of Loch Lomond is medicine enough for low clouds and rain blotting out nearly all the light from the ‘bonnie bonnie banks’.
Hanging pots of fuschia and begonia outside little cottages, and bright red and orange rose hips intertwined in the hedges, add the touch of colour.

It didn’t matter that the sun was never going to peep through today. I’d written about the Trossachs and Loch Lomond fifty years ago, and I’ve never been.

And, despite Ken’s hesitation, I ordered haggis for the first time, an £11 experiment. At least I can now tell you that it is fifty percent oats with ground lamb, onion and heavily spiced; all tucked into the natural lining of a sheep’s lung. We all tasted. We’re all still breathing. But we’ll remember the salty Cumbrae oysters and beef and guiness pie better.

Postscript:
Making our way out of Edinburgh from the ship, our Scottish chatty cabby, Douglas, wants to show us the exclusive Fettes College, which J K Rowling used as the basis for her ‘Hogwarts’ Academy in the Harry Potter stories. (Tony Blair was educated here).

There are so many beautiful areas of this city – of squares, elegant stone mansions, established ‘green’, and wide streets (from the era when horse and carriages had to turnaround).
Then, over the Forth Bridge, and on the slow back-roads through little Scottish villages, forests, and fields of cows and sheep to reach Lake Lomond, gateway to the Highlands.

Ken suggests a pint in a traditional local pub, ‘The Trades House’, which we admire for its turned wood, stained glass, and colourful Victorian decor, only to find that it is a clever make-over of an old Bank!

Walking for a mile in the heat (yes, in the heat for the first time since leaving Australia), we reach place 3.  Modern! Lifeless!  But there is roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (yesterday’s!) on the menu. So-so.

I take-off on foot to Dundee’s ‘Discovery Point’, centred on Antarctic exploration, and the sea. It’s exciting to see Captain Robert Scott’s 1901 preserved Antarctic research vessel RRS Discovery moored in a dock. Right next to the old three-master, an architecturally impressive new V &A Museum of Design (that, from certain angles, also resembles a boat) is under construction. I imagine the locals are hoping that it will become a magnet for visitors just as Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum breathed life back into what were old railway yards in Bilbao.

CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTO ALBUM

https://goo.gl/photos/zLA41YSrWkdYycXL6

Sailing into the Orkneys in the early morning and stepping out on to a wet balcony, I feel the cold wind and rain lash across my face. I can sense the remoteness. The whistling of the wind has such an eerie feel and I have the notion that Agatha Christie has been here before me.

Disembarking at the dock in Kirkwall later in the morning, the lashing rain and wind returns but when the sun does peep through in the afternoon it creates such a gentle quality of light.

As sightseers, we find our way to the main street and the wonderful 11th century St Magnus Cathedral. Across the way, there’s the ruins of the 17th century Renaissance-style Earl’s Palace built by Patrick, Earl of Orkney, the illegitimate cousin of King James VI. The whole area is welcoming and provides many photo opportunities.

Sydney friends, Sue and Graeme Crabbe had been to the Orkneys for a few days over Easter. They were all for my venturing south of the islands to a little bistro on the cliffs on the southern tip of South Ronaldsay. That we do, and so easily, after we engage local taxi driver Gail outside the Cathedral. And what a great local tour guide to boot, all for £40 per hour.

We bet that the weather will be better on the way home, so we don’t spend too much time at the Churchill Barriers or the Italian Chapel, and continue our drive through pasture lands in the rain. Beautifully situated along twists and turns of country lanes, we find Skerries Bistro, a few metres from the cliff, and in good time to get a window table with the whole panorama of sea and Scotland before us.

The scallops were just delicious, crisp on the outside from the hot pan, and moist and flavoursome. Even the orange roe, so sweet, that I don’t usually like was delicious. Eat your hearts out friends, while I eat the ‘partan’s tae’, the delicious claw of an Orkney crab – just a wee part of my local seafood platter that followed. Looking at Pam’s organic salmon fish cake, I was wishing that I’d had more room.

Coming back to the ship in the sunshine, we stop at the Italian Chapel, a beautiful Roman Catholic chapel on the edge of Scapa Flow. The chapel consisting of two Nissen huts was built by WWII Italian prisoners of war captured in North Africa and put to work on the Churchill Barriers. It is the most visited tourist attraction in all of the Orkneys.

I don’t believe that all four of us fronted up for Afternoon Tea with hot scones and little sandwiches when we got back to the ship. Mea cupla!

‘MIDSOMER MURDERS’ IN THE SHETLANDS

‘Miss Marple’ hasn’t been seen tucking-in to a bowl of mussels and eating chips in a pub, but her double was there with a sparkle in her eye just across from me at lunch at the Scalloway Hotel in the Shetlands today.

And ‘Doc Martin’ hasn’t been seen holidaying in the Shetlands, but, seemingly, it was he walking past the window of our pub on a grey drizzly seashore.

I half expected ‘Vera’ to rock-up in her battered old 4WD and get out in her tatty old rain coat and hat and come into the pub in Scalloway looking for a murderer.

But it was only we four, Pam and Ken, Jim and I, fantasising about nothing as we sat there with a beer hoping that something exciting might occur as we waited for the freshly caught lobster to be brought to the table. The lobster was indeed fresh, and the meat in the claws particularly, so sweet.

Showers and drizzle never make for a nice day out, and even less so in this wind-swept island of bleak old Victorian stone houses on the North Sea. Back to the boat for a read, but as usual, the reading soon gives way to more sleeping.

CLICK HERE to see Photo Album

Rain and fog as we drive around three of the eighteen Faroe Islands, but the experience couldn’t have been more bright with our local guide and driver, Birnir Hauksson illuminating the whole proceedings. One of the beautiful little villages on the west-side of Vágar is Bøur. It has a magnificent view over the sea and salmon farms to the rocky islet Tindholmur with its many peaks. The village has charming old wooden houses and a traditional church from 1865. 

I’m getting this posted before I race for my Stematil and to to batten down the hatches. The Captain has just interrupted our civilised afternoon tea (cucumber sandwiches and hot scones) to make an announcement. “We’re leaving port right now, and sailing at full speed to reach the the Shetlands before the onslaught of an approaching really bad weather depression for the area. Expect stormy seas, high waves, and gale force winds overnight, and hang on to railings in staircases”.

FAROE ISLANDS Photo Album

13 days Cruise from Reykjavik to London Tower Bridge - August 2017

Reykjavik and Golden Circle Tour – Photo Album

Iceland Cruise – Reykjavik – Ísafjörður – Photo Album

To Lake Mývatn from Husavik – Northern Iceland – Photo Album

Ken and Pam, Jim and Michael at Gullfoss a unique waterfall located in the canyon of the Hvítá river in southwest Iceland.

Our itinerary

Too many people to mention, but today, Sam, Jonathan and Kane with all the guys at Apollo truly turned on ‘Apollo’s Feast’ for all 75 of us.

More photos and comments will come in a day or two (if you’re not totally over my being 75 by then!)
 

The 'advance' work force at Apollo with the 'Gerhard' creation

CLICK HERE to see Photo Album

Friend Gerhard went all out to transform Apollo for the 75th without detracting from the simplicity of the restaurant. Olive trees, lemons, pomegranates, artichokes and other vegetables formed the main display, with bay and rosemary wreaths made for the walls. Thanks Gerhard for a great ‘installation’. (And thank you to Robyn for ‘pruning’ her lemon trees and bringing the laden branches.)

Great having my immediate family from Queensland come down for the celebration.
eldest brother, Tony and Ruth
Sister Anne and Trev, and
younger brother, Mark and Jenny

 
ST IGNATIUS FEAST DAY CELEBRATIONS AT ST CANICE’S

Michael, Seamus, Richard, Fr Tom, Patrick, Edwina and Bronnie – preparing for the Entrance at the 10.30 am Mass – with flags of East Timor.5

Students from three of Sydney’s Jesuit Colleges came to St Canice’s this weekend to join in the parish Feast Day celebrations and to share of their recent ‘immersion’ experiences at our sister parish in East Timor, at the Jesuit Railaco Mission. Fr Tom Renshaw celebrated all three Masses. After the 10.30am Mass, parishioners gathered in the forecourt for morning tea.

Thanks to your collective generosity, we’ll be sending more than $10,000 to Fr Bong in Railaco to support the humanitarian works of our sister parish.

Click here to see Photos from the Masses on the special weekend, and of parishioners enjoying morning tea in the forecourt after the 10.30 am Mass.

FIRST LETTER OF MICHAEL TO THE CANICEIANS

My third visit to East Timor in 2017

I recently made my third visit to Timor. I was looking for answers to some questions that impact Australians attitudes towards fundraising for East Timor today.

I’m often asked ‘Why East Timor? Don’t we have enough needy people here at home to worry about?’; and ‘What is life really like up there in the villages?’

While living day-to-day with the Jesuits for ten days, answers to these and other questions evolved. My goal for the trip was primarily to gather new information about the kids, the school, and the mothers whom St Canice’s helps, and then to make a video to share with you.

As the days rolled on, I became conscious of a burning inner desire to share more of what I was learning.

I was hoping that with a little more awareness, more people at St Canice’s might be motivated to ‘climb on board’, to become ‘sowers of seed’, and become actively involved in raising funds to enable those on the front lines, to continue with their service to the poor.

It may be a little ‘tongue in cheek’, but I labeled my report: ‘The First Letter of Michael to the Caniceians’.”

The actual report can be read on the parish webpage. PLEASE CLICK HERE

I’ve written an extensive ‘report’ on his trip, going beyond sharing what’s going on with the Children’s Feeding Program, Mobile Medical Clinic, and Secondary School. My aim of this ‘report’ is to share more of the ‘back-story’ about conditions and life ‘on the front lines’ in Timor. I learned a lot from first-hand experiences in meeting many Jesuits and speaking to other volunteers.

The Vision of the Jesuits up there is to see a Timor-Leste Church and Nation that is grounded in faith and justice of the gospel, and where the humanisation of life especially youth, women and children is included. The works of the Jesuits and volunteers allow marginalised families to grow in community, opportunity, and hope.

Click here to read my story, ‘The First Letter of Michael to the Caniceians’. (Written with St Canice parishioners as the primary audience.)

Cover - 'First Letter of Michael to the Caniceians'.

A spot of sunshine for Ken, Pam, Edmundo and Michael in front of the Krujë castle, near Tirana in Albania and the centre of Skanderbeg's rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.

T

he links to all the albums from our recent trip are grouped in this one blog. This interim measure gives easy access to the photos and storylines for all 15 Google Albums. The stories are by and large personal experiences or items of interest learned through local conversations. Some other references are taken from reliable sources to provide historical context and sense of place.

To view, simply click on name of each destination listed below. Pam and Ken and Edmundo did not accompany me on the Italian long weekend in the Romagna Region.

If your time is limited, I suggest that you choose 1. Berat and Apolonia, Albania, 2. Sarajevo, Bosnia Day 1, and 3. Ravenna, Italy to give you the flavour of what we experienced.

Enjoy!

Michael, Pam, Ken, Edmundo.

Our little group outside the clock tower and 19th century Ethem Bey Mosque in Tirana

Easter Weekend in Lucerne

Tirana – Finally Albania

The Abbey of Pomposa

Above Sarajevo with our guide Dino and driver Amer

SPECTACULAR MOSAICS COVER WALLS AND CEILING IN ST VITALE BASILICA IN RAVENNA, ITALY .  .  .  .  In a lunette on the left wall are two scenes from the life of Abraham. On the left, his wife Sarah waits in the doorway as Abraham brings a calf to the three mysterious guests (seen by Christians as foreshadowing the Trinity), who sit at a table in the centre. On the right is his near-sacrifice of his son Isaac in obedience to God's will.  At the very top left is the Prophet Jeremiah while the right shows a beardless Moses ascending Mt. Sinai.  The presbytery vault is richly decorated with mosaics in green, blue and gold, with vine tendrils and small animals. Each of the four sections of the vault has a standing angel in a white robe, who together support a central medallion of the Lamb of God against the backdrop of a starry sky. (Captured with my iPhone 6S)