The BBC reports that Bishop Harper in an interview with the Irish Times says that the ban on Catholics becoming the British monarch should be abolished. The Act of Settlement of 1701 bans Catholics, or those married to Catholics, from ascending the British throne. Bishop Harper, who was born in Tamworth in Staffordshire, is to succeed Dr Robin Eames who retired in December. The new primate-elect said the Act "belongs to its time and we should move on", but that its repeal could have implications for the Church of England. As well as being the head of state, the British monarch is governor of the Church of England. Bishop Harper told the Irish Times that the disestablishment of the Church of England - separating church and state - was something it would "not only get over, but would be the better for it". Previously, Westminster Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has said under the terms of the Act, Prince William "can marry by law a Hindu, a Buddhist, anyone, but not a Roman Catholic" and still be king. The relevant part of the Act states: "That all and every person and persons, who shall or may take or inherit the said Crown, by virtue of the limitation of this present act, and is, are or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the popish religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be subject to such incapacities."

I can say almost for certain that the final week of Pope John Paul II's life was an extraordinary time for me. From the 24 hour coverage of his Holiness' final moments to the dramatic buildup of his funeral, and the election thereof Pope Benedict XVI. It was a mystical moment for me, but one that I didn't realize until about a year and a half later. From that moment on I began devouring books on our beautiful Catholic faith.

Reading books is a favorite pastime of mine. Normally I read early 20th century American fiction writers such as John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway. I also enjoy reading science fiction such as Isaac Asimov and Kevin J. Anderson. To top it all off I read political non-fiction such as Samuel P. Huntington and Bernard Goldberg to Dinesh D'Souza. But my favorite is history. I looove history. I read it as a passion. From American history to medieval European history to Roman history. You name it, I have read it or about to read it.

Well, back to the subject. So I read a lot basically and I am Catholic. I have not always been an observant Catholic which was mostly due to the influence of the fallen world and my ignorance of Catholicism. Not that I was a Ted Kennedy or Dorothy Day type of Catholic, but you could say that I wasn't your typical Catholic that I still attended Mass, but my faith pretty much began and started at Mass only.

So I picked up a short book about the explanations of certain 'Catholicisms' that outsiders always questioned. Nothing to deep nor explanatory enough, but it was a book that I normally pick up ever year or so about Catholicism flipping through to better understand what I was doing. This time I did more than just browse this book, I read it in a day and went straight to a Barnes & Noble (I split my free time there and at Borders) and picked up another book, but this time with a bit more substance. Finished that by the end of the week and went straight to Mass on Sunday.

From that day forward not a day goes by that I don't read a chapter out of the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Vatican II documents, and my current favorite Catholic book of the moment (lives of saints, spirituality, Church history, etc). Learning to pray properly, understanding the form and function of the Mass, learning my Holy Days of Obligations, the Hours of Prayer, and so on and so forth.

It was just little by little building up more momentum than the day before. You could say that this blog was an outgrowth of this leap in my learning curve. I became much more engaged in my faith where I am at a point now that I just can't believe it can't get any better or I could not learn anymore (faster) than the previous three (3) years.

I am not an expert in any area of our Catholic faith. But I do understand most of the basic precepts and the importance of prayer and humility (and still learning). I just didn't realize that my spiritual side would spill over into work, play, and other areas such as discipline. If a friend of mine from three (3) years ago would who hasn't seem me in that span of time and were to meet me today, they would notice the changes. So I have deepened my spiritual life and continue to pray and learn more about my faith. The results thus far has prompted me to continue to diligently work towards sanctifying everything that I do for God.

To get to the point, it is getting better each day as I grow in my faith. I've left everything up to God which has given me new life. Freeing me to worship Him without any other interference. I don't want to share many of the good deeds and developments within myself just yet, but I will say that this blog will be heading into a different direction than it has previously. One thing though that I am praying and asking God for is for me to stay in Houston.

I can't do this all by myself. By the Grace of God and a little perseverance I have made it this far into life. I'm asking my avid readers for a favor which I've never asked before, but I really need now. Pray for me that I reach this one goal for the year. I've lived a frantic and busy life moving to many parts of this great nation and I'm a bit tired of having to pull up roots and reestablish myself elsewhere. Growing up in Hawaii, doing my university studies in Arizona, and working all over the South has been a wonderful experience. It's time I stay in one place and stop travelling because of work or moving because of work. Pray for me that I may find gainful employment here in Houston. There's lots of jobs out there and I could land a job anywhere but Houston, so I've been doing contracting work for many months while keeping residence in Houston. It's a great job and I enjoy what I am doing, but I am also not doing other things that I have helped to establish in Houston such as apostolates and my many, many friendships. So if you could, pray for me that I will be successful in finding work here in Houston. And if I am not, it is still all for the best and I will still be thankful for your prayers.

God bless you all.

Tito

Post Script: I'm not the bald guy with the big goofy grin and bushy eyebrows.

. . . the fact of the destruction of so many human lives still to be born or in their final stage extremely grave and disturbing, but no less grave and disturbing is the fact that conscience itself, darkened as it were by such widespread conditioning, is finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of human life. (Evangelium Vitae, #4)

The common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights—for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture—is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination (Christifideles Laici, no. 38).

"Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage way, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia." (Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion)

There's more, but I need to get going. God bless you all.