random thoughts for a Friday morning.

1. Beware of anyone who thinks they're more Catholic than the pope. That prideful way is the road to kookdom. I was reading one blog which I shall not name and the blogger was freaking out over something that some obscure web site was claiming that the pope is going to do. If you're going to go frothing at the mouth at least find out if the information is true. This person came off as so angry and so out of control my impulse was to leave his/her blog and never come back. This person claims to be a traditionalist but his/her ranting does the cause no service.
   
   
2. You may have heard that Mass attendance is up in Boston. Blogger Carol McKinnley says it's all hooey.
   
   
3. I rarely read The Remnant anymore but this article is correct when it calls St. Lawrence Church ugly. However, it is not the ugliest church in the Arlington diocese. There are at least three other churches in the diocese that make it look like Notre Dame Cathedral.
   
   
4. Seeing all those Mexican flags at the protests in California reminded me of the old story about the camel and the tent.
   
   
5. I wish I could buy the Archbishop Sheen waltz. It's that theme music that plays when Life is Worth Living comes on EWTN.
   
   
6. Speaking of EWTN, doesn't Raymond Arroyo look just like Pinnochio once he became a real boy?
   
   
7. Does anybody know when St. Thomas Moore Cathedral in Arlington is open? Every time I've tried to go pray there after work it's always been locked down.
   
   
8. Do you ever get the feeling that some church critics are actually enjoying the scandals that have taken place?
   

Sad story out of New Orleans

This is wrong. As a black Catholic I hate to see this church close but protests during the Holy Mass are a sin against Jesus.

Top of the World, Mom!

The B team is going to let me hang out with them. Now if I can just figure out who to show their link in my sidebar. When I said I was a rank amateur at this I wasn't kidding.

Dirty deeds done in the dark.....

...get dragged out into the light and exposed eventually. Although, I must say that the alleged victim sounds shady himself.

Sunday vigil

For the Sunday vigil we went to our backup church. I was agitated because we were running late and it was my fault. My hair appointment ran longer than I was expecting. Both my husband and I wanted to go to confession and at this church they shut the confessions down promply at 4:30 whether you're in line or not. We made it and while we were in line I feasted on the beauty of the church.

The light shining in through the stained glass over the altar made the santuary look like it was draped in gauze. Two old ladies were gossiping up front and they sounded remarkably like clucking guinea hens. Two huge altar boys loped by looking very serious. We ended up having four altar boys and they were all fantastic. Somebody at that church does a great job training them. The hard-eyed lady sacristan who doesn't like anyone who hasn't gone to that church for less than a year seemed cheerful for a change. In the back somebody was whispering the Hail Mary and a baby was sneezing. There were two priests hearing confessions and the lines were long. It's been a frazzled week but thanks to Jesus I finally found peace.

Big doings in the Arlington Diocese

This morning when I woke up the chirpy news gal on WGMS sang out that there was going to be something NEW at Mass in the Arlington diocese. My stomach clenched. What on earth….? Bishop Loverde (she mispronounced it to sound like LOW-VER-DEE) is going to allow altar girls and women servers. She was so happy I guess she's been itching to prance around on the altar for awhile now. I'm not thrilled about this but heck, it could be worse.


Something else has happened that wasn't given a big announcement. The bishop has decided to allow the Tridentine Mass at two churches. I'm delighted--- this is something I've hoped for and prayed for for a long time but Bishop Loverde hasn't impressed me much in the past (I still remember Fr. Haley ) and I feel a bit uneasy. Are these parishes in good financial shape? Are the pastors on the bishop's S list? I don’t want to get attached to the Mass and then have it pulled out from under me in a year's time.

Miracles

I saw 3 miracles at Mass last night. First, bread and wine became the body and blood of our Lord. Second, we came face to face with Jesus in the Eucharist and finally after Mass we got to meet Jesus in the precious gift of Confession. And then as an extra bonus there was a fourth miracle. I saw a lot of young people at Mass. College kids mostly. They weren't in a group. They didn't appear to even know one another. They all simply decided to come to Mass on their own. When I get cranky about the state of the church in America I will try to remember those kids.

The Bishops blow it again

I am SO disappointed (again) in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for their opposition to the HR 4437 bill. Americans are getting screwed but the bishops don't care, no pun intended. A few years ago a young man I know had an accident and ended up in a 3 week coma. He was 19 and had no insurance so the hospital kicked him out as soon as he was fully awake and was able to walk. He got no rehab and no follow up. His family read books and came up with a makeshift physical rehab program for him with their own exercise equipment. Contrast this to the care immigrants receive. A relative of mine came home from work scandalized because a co-worker from another country (illegal) was bragging about her sweet healthcare deal. Not only is this woman and her American born children fully covered (thanks to you and me) but her husband who just arrived in the States and who has never worked one damn day here got a social worker to help him and he is getting free care for his kidney condition. U.S. is supposed to stand for United States or Uncle Sam if you're feeling whimsical not Uncle Sucker.

Lent parties?

What's up with all the parties being given by parishes during Lent? When did this start? Looking at my diocese's newspaper I read that the Knights of Columbus are holding a banquet to raise money for some worthy cause. Champagne and dancing in the church hall. Gee. Did Vatican II change the nature of Lent? Is it no longer a season of penance and preparation?

Another church in the diocese is having a Beef and Brew. The folks are going to gather round, listen to music, dance, drink beer and chow down to barbecue. Last week Catholic Charities had its black tie gala (Around here it's the biggest Catholic party of the year outside of a Kennedy wedding) All this during Lent. Sheesh!

What I'm reading

Why Catholics Can't Sing

The Lamb's Supper by good ole Scott Hahn (it's the greatest book on the Mass I've ever read)

God is Love by Pope B16


The Passion by Paul Thigpen

Blackmail

I fully agree with the aims of the Dan O'Donnel society. We need to get rid of bad priests but the way they're going about it is black mail and threatening to expose the baddies in the middle of Lent seems like a half assed sutnt.

If you've proof of behavior unbecoming of a priest expose it and be done with it but don't play games like this. Besides if a priest in this diocese suddenly leaves every one will know he's one of the guys the O'Donnel society was talking about so he might as well stay put and try to bluff his way through.

Fr. William Casey for Lent

EWTN is showing Fr. William Casey's Lenten retreat series on Sundays. If you haven't seen him tune in. Wow! That man can really preach.

The Fr. Tim essay.

I don't know how it happened but I seem to read this essay about once a year. Each time I read it I just about bust a gut but all humor aside it's obvious that this is a very bitter man. He's so mean that I wouldn't want to go to any church that he reccomended to me.

Oh for crying out loud...

I'm sorry but this story is freaking nuts. This woman claims that she was abused 40 years ago? How is she to prove this? How is the bishop to disprove it? If this woman gets one red cent then we'll all know that the rule of law in this country is completely dead when Catholics are involved.

A prayer for my friend

The mother of one of my friends used to be a witch back in the late 80s. She was into some really bad stuff, to put it mildly. One day she abruptly quit but without going into detail it's obviously that the sins of the mother have deeply affected the whole family. My friend's childhood and teen years were simply tragic. There are some things you shouldn't mess with. Her mother opened a door and years later it's still not completely closed...........

OCCULT CURSE BREAKING PRAYER

Eternal Father, in the Name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, I ask you to send the sword of Your Spirit to sever and break all evil curses, pacts, spells, seals, hexes, vexes, triggers, trances, vows, demonic blessings, or any other demonic bondages sent against me or N., or any of our loved ones or any of our possessions. (Say 3 times)
Lord, Jesus Christ, I ask you to bind, command to silence, and separate all evil spirits attached to any evil curses, pacts, spells, seals, hexes, vexes, triggers, trances, vows, demonic blessings, or any other demonic bondages sent against me or N., or any of our loved ones or any of our possessions, and in Your Name Lord, Jesus Christ, I ask you to command them to depart from us and go directly to the foot of Your Cross, never to return to us again. Lord Jesus, cover us with Your Precious Blood and send angels to protect us. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. I praise and thank You. Amen.

some people live to complain

Some Catholics simply refuse to see the bright side of anything. Over 1000 people came to the Rite Election at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception this Sunday (last year my husband was one of them) in order to celebrate the first rite which will lead to baptism or confirmation for the catechumens and candidates at Easter. This is a happy occasion but the people on one forum which I will not name couldn't say one nice thing. They said these dear people weren't really going to be Catholic because most probably attend the Novus Ordo Mass. For goodness sake...........

Dana Reeves

Dana Reeves, the widow of Christopher Reeves died at the age of 44. Her views on killing babies in order to harvest their body parts to help seriously ill people like her late husband were revolting however; she was a good wife to Reeves and there was never even a whiff of scandal about her conduct while he was trapped in that wheelchair and she leaves a teenaged son. He will probably go to live with relatives but nobody else can be like your own mama. Poor kid.

How could I have forgotten?

It was Saint Katherine Drexel's feast day this week. Thank you dear Saint Katherine for your work among blacks and Indians. Whenever I'm in Old Town, Alexandria I go past St. Joseph's, a very pretty little church that St. Katherine helped start. Up until the early 70s, black people weren't welcome at most Northern Virginia parishes. Folks had to drive or take a bus to Washington DC. When Saint Katherine gave the money to build St. Josephs it was a haven for black Catholics. Later, another black parish, Our Lady Queen of Peace was established in Arlington, Virginia. We've come a long way and St. Katherine helped us get there.

Stomach turning

Someone once said "first comes the tragedy, then comes the farce." Well the Cafeteria is Closed Blog has a post on a Gospel procession that is actually both with a huge dollop of insanity thrown in. Pray for this priest. Pray for these poor people.






St. Dymphna, my dear patron pray for us.
St. Pio, you had a special affection for Americans, pray for us.

Whatcha doing for Lent?

If you've been bragging about what you are planning to do for Lent the New Oxford Review folks are not amused.

Ash Wednesday

Last night I went to the 5:30 Mass at St. Matthews Cathedral in DC. It was wonderful. The cantor sang beautifully but wasn't trying to highjack the Mass. The organist was in a zone. He really made that old organ strut. The homily was excellent. We had four priests, two deacons and a horde of eager Eucharistic ministers.(Grrrr!) The cathedral was packed. People who came late had to stand and there was a crowd of folks who attended Mass on the steps and sidewalk.

We had one weird moment before Mass started. I glanced at my husband and almost screamed. There was a young man kneeling behind us and he was leaning so far forward that his head was actually between my husband and me. For a second it looked like a disembodied head was resting on my shoulder.

And then the dude let out a couple of small belches. Under any other circumstances a man who belched in my face would get a nasty reaction from me but since we were in church we just moved. Actually, we hopped up and ran to a different pew. And later that night we watched the pope's Ash Wednesday Mass on EWTN.