A visit from Fr. Dubay

Rocky and I heard that Fr. Thomas Dubay was going to be in Northern Virginia so we got in the car and drove to Blessed Sacrament Church. Blessed Sacrament is one of the uglier churches in the Arlington Diocese but good, good things are happening there. Fr. Keegan, the pastor is a solid priest and he has people like Fr. Groschel, Dawn Eden and George Weigel come to give talks. Fr. Dubay is a charming man and an excellent teacher. We were both dog tired after a long work day but we're glad we went.

The Holy Father

Pope Benedict has made it through day one of his trip to Turkey. He has two more to go. Let's keep on praying for him. I miss John Paul II but I've come to love Benedict and every rosary I say this week will be for his intentions and his safety.




Pope Saint Pius, pray for him.
Saint Teresa Benedicta, pray for him.
Saint Pio, pray for him.
Servant of God, Fulton Sheen, pray for him.
Saint Therese, pray for him.
Saint Dymphna, pray for him.
Mary, most gracious advocate, pray for him.

The Nativity movie

I don't plan to see it. So far from the reviews it sounds very Evangelical. Many Protestants see Mary as just a vessel, a mere convenience to get Jesus born in the usual way and Joseph as just a convenience to keep scandal away from the door. No thanks. Judging by Barbara Nicolosi's comment I don't think she liked it much.

Oh King of Kings

O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the bottomless pit; deliver them out of the lion's mouth,l est hell should swallow them up, lest they fall into the outer darkness; but let Thy standard-bearer, Saint Michael,bring them back into Thy holy light,which Thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed. Amen.

From The Roman Missal

Pray, pray, pray

overheard on Friday night

Rocky and I went to Baltimore to visit the newly restored Basilica. It is stunning. I especially liked going downstairs to the crypt. It was humbling to stand in front of Archbishop Carroll's tomb. I said a short prayer asking him and Cardinal Gibbons to please pray for the church. We visited the Blessed Sacrament and were sad to see people just strolling by without even acknowledging Jesus' presence.

The museum is very nice and so is the gift shop. There was a large tour group visiting and we saw nuns from the Missionaries of Charity and the Virgin of Materra orders. It was great seeing those happy young women all in full habit.

Next we went to Lexington Market for lunch. Baltimore black people have a unique style and Rocky and I stood out as much as the few white people who were there. Some --- oh hell, I'll be honest--- most of the men looked scary but if you don't stare, walk like you know what you;re doing and mind your own business you'll be fine in that part of town. Besides, the food is delicous. After Lexington Market we went to the beautiful Saint Jude Shrine.

Rocky loves trains so we went to the B&O Railroad musem next and I must say that it is even better than the train museum in Strausburg, PA. After that we stopped by Saint Alphonsus which has a Tridentine Mass but they were closed tight so we just peered through the glass of the front doors.

Once we got home to Virginia we were starving and since it was Friday we went to a seafood restaurant. Sitting next to us was a family from (judging from the wife's accent) the western or middle part of Virginia, maybe Lynchburg, or as far as the Roanoke area. They were talking about the pope and the Catholic church and what they were saying was so ridiculous and ignorant that I stopped eating. Rocky was so into his crab legs that he never heard a word and I didn't mention anything to him. Archbishop Sheen once said that most of the people who hate the church don't even know what they're talking about. They've been taught a passle of lies and half truths (half truth is more dangerous that the outright lie sometimes). I wished them well and hope they meet some nice, patient Catholic some day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm not cooking this year. The whole family is going to a restaurant and I'm delighted.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

wondering...

I've been reading Catholic Answers Forum for about a year and judging from the questions and responses there and from reading several big time professional Catholic blogs I've come to the sad conclusion that a lot of mainstream American Catholics are unknowingly, really Roman Protestants. 40+ years of bad to non-existant catechesis has had tragic results.


Our Lady of Akita, pray for us.

Imans on a Plane

Somebody is calling for a Muslim boycott of US Airlines. Ann Coulter predicts that the boycott will work but not the way these fools think.

Pro multis

The Vatican has ruled that the English translation of the Mass should say "for many" instead of the mistranslation of "for all" that we've been living with. Good news for a change.

church friends

I've known a number of new Catholics to complain that their new Catholic parishes aren't as loving and friendly as their old Prot church. That's true. Catholics don't follow the love bomb the new people methold and so what? You go to church to meet Jesus, not to party down.
Rocky and I have been at the same suburban parish for going on two years and people (I't just the working class folks. The upper class ones still don't speak, interestingly enough.) are only now just starting to warm up to us. I'm a lone wolf anyway so this never bothered me. I'm just happy that they've stopped looking surprised when we walk in.

One of my relatives is a Jehovah's Witness. He has no friends outside the Kingdom Hal and that's the way the JWs want it. Since his whole social life revolves around the hall he'll be less likely to ever leave because naturally he don't want to lose everything. It's a mind control method.

Casino Royale

We went to see Casino Royale last night and it was great. I had my doubts about Daniel Craig at first but he pulled it off. Forget about Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig is the best Bond since Sean Connery.

random thoughts for a thursday night

• The US Bishops are having their meeting in Baltimore and so far it's just been a miserable waste of time and money. It's tragic but obviously many of the bishops have no idea about what needs to be done to serve God's people or they just don't care. I'm terribly disappointed.

• I bought the Christmas With the VonTrapp Family Singers album and it is gorgeous. That family could really sing. It was thrilling to hear the voice of the real Maria and the real Barron. The musical of their lives premiered today in 1959.

• Anathema Sit has a few things to say about Rocco Palmo (that kid who runs the Whispers from the Loggia blog) and none of them is "Happy Birthday." Read all about it here and here
  

Go to your mother

Remember how when you'd fall down and scrape your knees you'd run to Mama? Well the US is in world of serious moral hurt right now and we need to turn to our Mother. Although it was ignored by most, if not all of the big Catholic blogs the US bishops consecrated America to Our Lady at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception yesterday. Rocky and I watched it on EWTN.

random thoughts for a Saturday morning

• In the last couple of months I've read two really poor books written by priests. Today I'm settling in with a fantastic one. It's Ever Ancient, Ever New a collection of articles written by Fr. John Corapi. Do check this one out.
  
  
  
• It's now the 11th of November. I don't think the Universal Indult is coming.
  
  
• I just got a veil from Modesty Veils. It's cheap, very pretty and is made of good quality lace in America by a Catholic seamstress/business owner.

Pray for the Holy Father.

I'm very worried about his safety on this upcoming trip to Turkey.

another charity struck off my list

I will never give to Samaritan's Purse again. Franklin Graham you should be ashamed. Hat to the lovely and gracious Christine at

Thank God tha's all over

I hate politics. It's a dried up old whore's game and I'm so glad this wretched election is over. Rick Santorum lost. Apparently Catholics turned against him in a big way. Satan won in South Dakota. It looks like really nice guy Michael Steele lost in Maryland. George Allen has probably lost Virginia. Queen Hilary won an easy as pie victory in New York.

The election means America will end up more gay coddling, more taxed, more aborted and will probably cut and run out of Iraq. Oh well....

random thoughts on a rainy wednesday night

1. If Tom Cruise gets a Catholic wedding we'll all know that the Church in Italy is in serious disarray.


2. I keep putting it off but I realize that I really do have to buy Randy Engel's book, The Rite of Sodomy.

3. We went to the Dominican House of Studies for night prayer on Sunday night. It was lovely. Praying and listening to the chanting of all those young seminarians was a priceless experience.


4. I wanted to have a set of Gregorian Masses said for the repose of my father's soul. The secretary at the parish office didn't even know what I was talking about and grudgingly allowed me to pay for only ten. I just found this web site and will arrange to have the Masses said by a priest with the Catholic Missions Office.

Hunting for God

I just finished reading Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord, which was written by a young priest. It's okay for new converts, Protestants or kids but I was impatient with it and longed for something more substantial. This is the second book by a priest that I've read lately that turned out to be a dud. I guess I'll just re-read my Archbishop Sheen collection.

random thoughts for a saturday morning

• What an abomination. Things aren't perfect in my diocese but at least none our parishes have had anything like this going on. This priest needs to go read a book on Padre Pio and fast!
  
  
• When IVF was first introduced almost everyone was delighted. Some people warned that this would lead to trouble but they were ignored. If you've ever wondered what happens to all those "extra" embryos read this.
  
  
  
• Rocky had to work late on All Souls Day so we went to the vigil the night before. When we got there Fr. Theoden was praying by the altar. When he noticed us he whispered that the Mass was going to be in Spanish. Rocky said that was fine, it's a valid Mass and would fulfill our obligation. Fr. Theoden seemed pleased that we didn't scurry out of there and the Mass was lovely. I had to concentrate becuase I've forgotten most of the Spanish I learned in school but I understood his excellent homily and was able to tell Rocky the gist of it. The Spanish parishioners were very friendly and no-one seemed to be shocked to see a black couple. That's a far cry from the icky experience we had at St. Anthony's in Falls Church.