Two beautiful things

• Rocky and I look forward to Thursday night every week because that's when St. Rita's has the Tridentine Latin Mass. It's such an uplifting, powerful, beautiful thing. We have young couples, single guys, well behaved children, and worshippers from all over the world. When I hear the words, "I will go to the altar of God..," and the response "to God who gives joy to my youth," I get a thrill every time.
  
  
  
• Every Sunday my mother and I go to the nursing home to visit my uncle. The commute over there isn't fun by any means but when we walk in and he lights up  as soon as he sees us, it's a beautiful thing. If you ever get a chance to visit a nursing home please go.  The residents are so grateful for any little scrap of attention, Reading a book, bringing a magazine or just bringing a pack of cookies brings them so much pleasure. It will fill your heart.
  
  So many residents are just dumped by their relatives and forgotten. Visiting once a month or every couple of weeks doesn't cut it. I don't care how chi chi the home is, residents who don't get visitors don't get anything beyond the barest legal minimum. You need to be your loved one's guard dog. My uncle's nurses know that he has a devoted sister with an eagle eye and a niece who is nuts about him -- or maybe just nuts. Thankfully, he's such a sweetheart and his RNs and LPNs and the CPAs are kind hearted people that they go out of their  way to make him happy. Being my Unkie's (that's what I call him) guardian is not something that I take lightly. It's time consuming but he is my beautiful thing because being in charge of his care is  a kiss from the Cross. 

a visit to St. Michael's

For our anniversary, Rocky and I took an overnight trip to St. Michael's Maryland. We ate crab, and shrimp and looked at bald eagles and wild turkeys. It was a nice little break and one of the nicest moments was visiting the St. Michael Mission Church. It's an adorable little church in the Federalist style and the people are so nice! We prayed the rosary and the Divine Mercy chaplet while we were there and we were invited to the St. Patrick's Day luncheon by parishioners. We had to get down the road so we declined but we were quite touched by their genuine friendliness.

Via Dolorosa

Behold, the Man

My King! My King!

Fr. Marcel Guarnizo must be a good priest

Fr. Marcel Guarnizo must be a good priest because the devil doesn't bother with Fr. Skippy or Father Mass-is-about-me-me-me. The devil frets and stews about the good guys. With all the lesbians in the DC area ---and DC has a huge gay population-- why did the Washington Post, a major newspaper with a national and worldwide audience, pay any attention to the complaints of one idividual in particular and why did they put her story on the front page--- THE FRONT PAGE----was there no story in the whole world more important than this one? The whole scene was obviously a set up.

St. John Vianney, you who know so well what attacks a priest is heir to, pray for your brother priest.

Follow Me

This would make a good gift for a seminarian or young priest but it's an excellent reminder for all Christians that following the Lord is not a bed of roses with smiles and candy raining from the sky.

Catholicism is not for sissies.

Today's gospel