Tips for Making a Perfect Cup of Tea

The freshness of the leaves - The tea leaf’s quality is an essential part of the quality of the drink. The tea leaves’ biggest enemies are light, heat, strong smells, and humidity. In order to ensure the freshness of the tea leaves, it is recommended to frequently purchase small quantities and to store the leaves sealed in a container which keeps out light, odors and oxygen.
The water quality - It is important to use flowing water which has not been previously boiled. It is recommended to use filtered water or mineral water, without the aftertaste and chlorine of tap water.
Water temperature - Boiling water should be used to brew black tea leaves.
For a brew of more delicate leaves, it is recommended to let the water cool off a bit to a temperature of about 90 degrees Celsius and only then to pour it onto the leaves.
The amount of leaves - It is easy to measure the amount with a spoon, but it is more accurate to do so by weighing the leaves. Certain leaves come in different sizes and a full spoonful of small leaves may contain a larger amount of leaves than a full spoonful of large leaves. In order to prepare tea in a teapot, 2 grams or one spoonful of tea leaves should be used for every cup as well as an additional spoon “for the teapot”. Thus, for instance, a teapot which makes four cups of tea should be filled with a total of five spoonfuls, or 10 grams, of tea leaves.
Brewing duration- The brewing duration changes according to the types of tea leaves, but in general, the smaller the leaves, the shorter the brewing duration.
The leaves should be brewed between three to five minutes.
Additives- Various things may be added to brewed tea in order to suit it to the preferred personal taste. It is well known that adding sugar enhances many flavors in food and drinks. Other common additives are lemon, vanilla pods, herbs, milk and alcohol.

 

Good Friday..

It’s Friday But Sunday’s Coming…

In a book of the above title, Tony Campolo recalls an epic sermon he heard one Good Friday. The Sermon was framed around the lines ‘it’s Friday but Sunday’s coming!’

“It was Friday; it was Friday and my Jesus was dead on the cross. But that was Friday and Sunday’s comin’!”
“It was Friday and Mary was cryin’ her eyes out. The disciples were runnin’ in every direction, like sheep without a Shepherd, but that was Friday. Sunday’s comin’!”

And so he said the Sermon continued, building in volume and power all the time.

“ It was Friday. The cynics were lookin’ at the world and saying; you can’t change anything. But those cynics didn’t know it was Friday. Sunday’s comin’!”

Tony recorded that that the sermon reached such an excitement that when the preacher delivered the final, “It’s Friday!” the whole congregation roared back, “BUT SUNDAY’S COMIN’!”

That may or may not remind you of your church but the sentiment is universal. We’ve journeyed through Lent to Good Friday and look to the excitement of Easter Day!

Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again!

Sunday’s coming! And that Sunday hope and excitement radiates out of Easter to every day, to our whole lives, to all ages! In a cynical and hurting world it’s hope for the now and for the future!

My ministry is to young people and those that work with them, young people growing up in a confused generation:

“Adolescents are not monsters. They are just people trying to learn how to make it among the adults in the world, who are probably not so sure themselves” (Virginia Satir)

Even those that know something of Christianity know far more about the “Friday” than they do about the “Sunday”, but this is the “living hope” to which 1st Peter refers. It’s this “Sunday “message that presents hope and a vision of what could be; the Kingdom breaking out on earth.

I love what Walter Brueggemann has to say in “The Prophetic Imagination”

“The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the dominant culture around us.”

He points out that the prophets tended to weep BUT then present an alternative vision of the future

It’s this “Sunday” inspired view of the future we need to be communicating to young people. BUT its also this view of the future that we need young people to be part of, as the youth strategy says, we need young people to have the opportunity to be “leaders and innovators in the Church”. We need their energy, enthusiasm, creativity and cultural understanding to be part of living and communicating that vision. Sunday’s here and Sunday’s coming!
Good Friday is the Friday within Holy Week, and is traditionally a time of fasting and penance, commemorating the anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion and death. For Christians, Good Friday commemorates not just a historical event, but the sacrificial death of Christ, which with the resurrection, comprises the heart of the Christian faith. The Catholic Catechism states this succinctly:

Justification has been merited for us by the Passion of Christ who offered himself on the cross as a living victim, holy and pleasing to God, and whose blood has become the instrument of atonement for the sins of all men (CCC 1992).

This is based on the words of St. Paul: “[Believers] are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood… (Romans 3:24-25, NAB). The customs and prayers associated with Good Friday typically focus on the theme of Christ’s sacrificial death for our sins.

The evening (at sunset) of Good Friday begins the second day of the Paschal Triduum. Good Friday worship services begin in the afternoon at 3:00 (the time Jesus likely died). Various traditions and customs are associated with the Western celebration of Good Friday. The singing (or preaching) of the Passion of St. John’s gospel consists of reading or singing parts of John’s gospel. The Veneration of the Cross is also common, where Christians approach a wooden cross and venerate it. In addition to these traditions, Holy Communion with the reserved host is practiced. In the modern Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, no Masses are said on Good Friday or Holy Saturday, therefore the reserved host from the Holy (Maundy) Thursday Mass is used. This is called the “Mass of the Pre-Sanctified.” Another service started by the Jesuit Alphonso Messia in 1732, now less common, the Tre Ore or “Three Hours,” is often held from noon until 3:00 PM, and consists of seven sermons on the seven last words of Christ. This service has been popular in many Protestant churches. Good Friday, along with Ash Wednesday, is an official fast day of the Catholic Church.

The Eastern Churches have different customs for the day they call “the Great Friday.” The Orthodox Church begins the day with Matins (Morning Prayer), where the “Twelve Gospels” is chanted, which consists of 12 passages drawn from the Passion narratives. In the morning, the “Little Hours” follow one after the other, consisting of Gospel, Epistle, and Prophet readings. Vespers (Evening Prayer) ends with a solemn veneration of the epitaphion, an embroidered veil containing scenes of Christ’s burial. Compline (Night Prayer) includes a lamentation placed on the Virgin Mary’s lips. On Good Friday night, a symbolic burial of Christ is performed. Traditionally, Chaldean and Syrian Christians cease using their customary Shlama greeting (”peace be with you”) on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, because Judas greeted Christ this way. They use the phrase “The light of God be with your departed ones” instead. In Russia, the tradition is to bring out a silver coffin, bearing a cross, and surrounded with candles and flowers. The faithful creep on their knees and kiss and venerate the image of Christ’s body painted on the “winding sheet” (shroud). For more information see The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church and The Catholic Source Book.

History

The celebration of Good Friday is ancient, and some of the practices associated with Good Friday are attested to by Egeria in the 4th century. The day gradually became a time of penance and fasting as the anniversary of the death of Christ. The name “Good Friday” possibly comes from “God’s Friday,” although the exact reason for the current name is unclear. Various churches observe Good Friday in addition to Catholics and Eastern Christians. Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans all observe Good Friday to varying degrees.

 

Pardon, please….

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted pardon to the 70-year-old deposed leader following a recommendation by the Department of Justice (DoJ), Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a press conference on national television.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno has been instructed to deliver the order to Estrada at 9 a.m. Friday at his rest house in Tanay, Rizal, said Bunye, concurrent executive secretary.

The process of serving the pardon starts when the former president accepts it and would take about three hours to arrange, Bunye said.

As soon as Estrada accepts the pardon, the order would be transmitted by Puno to the Sandiganbayan and once the anti-graft court has formally noted the order of acceptance, it would be returned to Tanay after which Estrada would be released.

Reading from the order signed by the President, Bunye said the pardon was granted after Estrada publicly agreed not to pursue any other elective office.

It is also part of Arroyo’s policy of releasing prisoners who have reached 70 years of age and in recognition of Estrada’s six years in detention, much of it under house arrest, Bunye said.

With the pardon, “Estrada has been restored his civil and political rights,” Bunye read.

But Bunye said the forfeiture decision imposed by the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court remained in force, “including all writs and processes issued by the Sandiganbayan … except for the bank accounts he owned before his tenure as President.”

The President’s order in full:

“Whereas, this Administration has a policy of releasing inmates who have reached the age of seventy (70),

“Whereas, Joseph Ejercito Estrada has been under detention for six and a half years,

“Whereas, Joseph Ejercito Estrada has publicly committed to no longer seek any elective position or office,

“In view hereof and pursuant to the authority conferred upon me by the Constitution, I hereby grant executive clemency to Joseph Ejercito Estrada, convicted by the Sandiganbayan of plunder and imposed a penalty of reclusion perpetua. He is hereby restored to his civil and political rights.

“The forfeitures imposed by the Sandiganbayan remain in force and in full, including all writs and processes issued by the Sandiganbayan in pursuance hereof, except for the bank account(s) he owned before his tenure as President.”

Bunye made no mention of the political pressure being exerted by Estrada supporters for release following his sentence of life imprisonment earlier this year for massive graft.

Bunye said the President’s decision was based on a Department of Justice recommendation, which contained the same reasons given in the “whereas” clause of the order.

Asked what had prompted Arroyo to act swiftly on the recommendation, Bunye said the President found sufficient reasons to grant Estrada pardon.

“The power of the President under the Constitution is absolute once the conditions for the grant of the pardon are there, the principal condition being that the sentence has already become final then that can set into motion the process of granting executive clemency,” Bunye explained.

In granting the pardon, Bunye assured that the President had considered all factors, including those opposing it.

The pardon came amid allegations by some groups that the move was a “political accommodation” to Estrada.

The chief government prosecutor and lawyers who won the plunder case against Estrada also opposed the move by the Palace, saying “the timing is not good” and “too early.”

But Malacañang officials said granting pardon to Estrada was a reconciliatory move that could finally pave the way to unity.

Estrada, who was sentenced to life in prison by the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court on September 12 for plunder, told the anti-graft court on Monday that he was dropping a motion for reconsideration on his verdict and would seek “full, free, and unconditional” pardon from Arroyo.

The President was reportedly elated when she was told of Estrada’s decision.

The Sandiganbayan Tuesday granted Estrada’s motion to waive his right to appeal his conviction. Dropping the appeal makes the court’s decision final and paves the way for the process of initiating a presidential pardon.