I'm sorry but this is ridiculous

Swing over to Lair of the Catholic Cavemen and check out this post on Fr. Stan Fortuna's latest concert. I love Fr. Groeschel. I love the Franciscans of the Renewal but Fr. Stan makes me want to avert my eyes. It's like watching your grandpa suddenly strip naked and do the samba.

Something beautiful

Here's a beautiful picture of a Cistercian nun. This nun's convent is located in Wisconsin and the sisters make hosts for Mass. They also accept online prayer requests.

Goodbye Good Man

What a shame.


St. Pio, St. John Vianney, Blessed Solanus Casey, and St. Athanasius please pray for this priest.
St. Therese, St. Dymphna, please pray for this priest.
Oh Mary, queen of the clergy have mercy.....

Genetic meme

Chris from IMHO tagged me……..


1. Which famous person would you most like to learn that you are descended from? Queen Catherine of Aragon

2. Which famous person would you hate to learn that you are descended from? Senator Robert Byrd

3. If you could be ancestor to any living famous person, who would it be and why?
Paris Hilton, so I could come to her as ghost to tell her to put some damn clothes on and stop acting like a um….good time girl.

4. If you could go back in time and meet any known ancestor(s) of yours, who would it be?
My mother's father who died from a black widow spider bite before I was born. I'd like to go in time to warn him to not put on the boot that the spider was hiding in. I'd also like to meet Caroline my great great great grandmother; born a slave in South Carolina in 1811. I'd like to find out the names of her parents and where she is buried.

5. Tag five others: anyone else who would like to play.

random thoughts for a Thursday night

1. A while back my husband was asking me about Fr. Haley. I told him that I hadn't heard or read anything about his status. Today in Renew Ameican I read this I wonder why the sisters bothered to get the book in the first place.
   
   
2. So far Archbishop Wuerl is saying all the right things and he's actually visiting a wide variety of parishes not just the ones in the suburbs and he even went to my old childhood parish, St. Augustine in DC. But I look at his past in Pennsylvania and I don't expect him to do much of anything good here.
   
   
3. After Mass on Saturday a beautifully coiffed older woman dressed in red a red shirtwaist dress, a white blazer, and black patent leather pumps stood up to give a speech. She was a nun from the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph. She was there to ask for donations for the support of their Peruvian mission. She said that they'd sent two of their younger sisters to Peru and because of the order's dwindling numbers it was a real sacrifice to do so. I thought, gee, perhaps if the sisters actually looked and acted like nuns you might have better luck with vocations and fundraising….. I prefer to give my money to nuns like these .
   
   
4. The owner of the Catholic Sensibility blog posted that he thinks pro-lifers need to stop looking so gloomy and learn to sparkle. I think I understand what he's saying. You do catch more flies with honey than vinegar but I can't agree with him. I don't want the pro life movement to sugar coat abortion. It is a sin that cries out to God for justice and this country is risking terrible punishment. We are worse than Sodom. We are worse than Ninevah or ancient Egypt or even the Aztecs and the Romans. There's no way to put on a happy face about this. Our Lady of Akita, pray for us.
   
   
5. Here is a wonderful source for those who love St. Therese. It has photos of her that I've never seen before.
   
   
   

Her roses still fall

Two weeks ago I said a novena to St. Therese. My prayer was answered and a few days later someone sent me a St. Therese chaplet. The chaplet is made by Carmelite nuns in Spain out of crushed rose petals. Getting that chaplet was a complete surprise. The dear saint has a sense of humor.

Thanks EWTN

Thanks for all the coverage of the papal Masses, thanks for the daily Mass, the rosary with the nuns, thanks for Fr. Corapi, Fr. Straub, and Fr. Bill Casey, thanks for nourishing my faith.

Happy 25th anniversary

Happy Feast of the Assumption!

Oh clement, oh loving, oh sweet Virgin Mary.



Pray for us, holy Mother.

strange experience

Yesterday my husband and I felt like going to the 7 PM Mass at a local church. We went in, sat down, prayed and meditated. Around 6:45ish a group of Latinos came in carrying a Senor de Los Milagros crucifix and a Divino Nino statue. Then one of them walked up to us and curtly asked if we had come for Mass. My first inclination was to say, "Yeah, buddy, what's it to ya?" but I was sitting right in front of the Blessed Sacrament so I simply said, "Yes."

He frowned and looked like he was passing a kidney stone. "Do you know Rosa?," he asked. Umm no, dude. He gave us a what the heck are you people doing here look and went away frowning. Another man glanced curiously at us and started working on the electric candles for the mini shrine in front of the Divine Child.

Rocky and I hadn't been to this church in a while so we guessed that the schedule had changed and that this was going to be a Spanish Mass. We were about to go find a bulletin and decide whether to stay or leave when the priest walked in. He stared at us and began speaking in Spanish. I got up, genuflected and headed for the door. Rocky followed. Some of the people in the pews seemed happy to see us go. We checked the bulletin and sure enough the 7 PM has been changed to Spanish but still the reactions we got seemed odd. I realize that the Mass was in Spanish but does than mean no non-Spanish speaking people are allowed to attend? When did that rule get put in place? No-one was overtly mean to us but we clearly got the vibe that we didn't belong. Catholic means universal. I guess they've forgotten that is this parish. My husband and I won't be dropping by again.

Random thoughts for Friday night

1. 
   Amy Wellborn, recently posted a long, odd apology of sorts as to why her daughter isn't going to Catholic school this year. My first thought was to wonder why she was bringing it up. After all her kid's education is nobody's business. But then it dawned on me that a lot of people look up to her and might (wrongly) be upset because her kid is in public school when Amy makes her living from writing about Catholicism. Ah the trials of being a public figure.
   
   
   
2. At lunch time today I was so bored that I picked up a bridal magazine. I was startled to see a large add from Holy Trinity parish in Reston, Virginia saying that if you want to get married there divorce is no impediment and that a priest will "marry" the bride and groom in any dignified location. I couldn't believe this at first until I looked at the web site. This parish is a schismatic outfit that has nothing to do with the Arlington diocese or Roman Catholicism. If any couple goes there to get married it won't be a valid marriage.
   
   
3. Remember, next Tuesday is a Holy Day of obligation!
   
   
   
4. Thanks to Lair of the Catholic Cavemen, I just discovered a new blog written by a no nonsense priest. Check it out.
   
   
5. Why does the Arlington Catholic Herald (the newspaper of my diocese) accept ads for pilgrimages to Medjugorje? It's an as yet unapproved apparition and by allowing these ads the paper is running the risk of making people think that Medj is legit.
   
   
6. Happy Feast of St.Clare to all the Poor Clares, especially my favorite Poor Clare, Mother Angelica.
   
   
7. God bless this woman and shame on the people who have made her life difficult in the last few weeks.
   
   
8. Does Mass at your church look like a mommy and me party? Are most of the males who do come to your Mass old men, boys, or gay? New Oxford Review has a stirring article explaining why.

NOVENA time

Madonna is planning on doing a mock crucifixion during her concert in Rome. She's also going to prance around wearing a fake crown of thorns. Sometimes when spiritually empty women who live on their looks reach middle age they panic. They start feeling as though they need to do something---anything--- to get attention and prove to themselves that they are still young and attractive. That's why you see 50 year old mincing through the mall in crotch high mini skirts and five inch heels or you see a grandma suddenly take a lover who's half her age. In Madonna's case her behavior is mostly a ploy to reboot her career but I suspect it's partially middle age panic and faded beauty that makes her act the way she does.

Novenna Prayer for Conversion
After each invocation say: My Jesus, pardon and mercy through Thy Sacred Wounds

My dear parents and grandparents,

My brothers and sisters and other near relatives,

My godparents and sponsors of Confirmation,

My spiritual and temporal benefactors,

My friends and neighbors,

All for whom love or duty bids me pray,

Those who have offended me,

Those who will offend me,

Those who have suffered disadvantage of harm through me,

Those whom I, still a sinner, will offend,

Those who are especially beloved by Thee,

Those whose death is near at hand,

Those who desire most to be united to Thee,

Those who endure the greatest sufferings and trials, especially spiritual torments,

Those whose death is most remote,

Those sinners have no one to pray for them,

Those who are most deserving on account of their services to the Church,

The rich who do not need Thee and are thus the most destitute,

The mighty who spurn Thee,

The spiritually blind, that they might see their folly,

The frivolous, who spend their time in idleness,

The poor, who do not seek the treasures of Heaven,

The tepid, who devote little time to prayer,

The indolent, who neglect to perform good works,

Those of little faith, who neglect the frequent reception of the Sacraments,

The habitual sinners, who require for their salvation to a miracle of grace,

Parents who fail to watch over their children,

Superiors who are not solicitous for the salvation of those entrusted to them,

Those who strive for worldly riches and pleasures,

The worldly minded, who fail to use their wealth and talents in the service of God,

Those who witness the death of others, but do not think of their own,

Those who blaspheme and commit sacrilege,

Those who violate the dignity of the human body and mind through impurity,

Those who sin because of my sins and bad example,

Those who do not provide for the life hereafter,

Those whose judgment will be severe because of the great things entrusted to them,

The pope, kings and rulers,

The bishops and their counselors,

My teachers and spiritual advisors,

The priests of this diocese,

The priests and religious of the Catholic Church,

The defenders of the holy Catholic Faith,

Those who die on the battlefield,

Those who fight for their country,

Those who will be buried in the sea,

Those who are to die suddenly, in accidents and from other causes,

Those who will die of heart attacks,

Those who suffer with cancer,

Those who suffer with AIDS,

Those who shall die without the last rites of the Church,

Those who shall die within the next twenty-four hours,

For Catholic apostates, heretics, and other unbelievers,

For Catholics who hold Masonic membership or in other secret societies,

For the conversion of the Jews, Thy chosen people of old,

For abortionists and those who aid them,

For women who seek abortions,

For those who promote or practicre contraception,

For those who give scandal, especially to children,

My own poor soul when I shall have to appear before Thy judgment seat.
PRAYER
Final perseverance and pardon grant unto all of these, O Lord; and let Thy graces through these petitions flow unto them and be fruitful. Amen.

Book Meme

Lair of the Catholic Cavemen tagged anybody reading the blog so.....


1. One book that changed your life: The Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen.

2. One book that you have read more than once: Salem's Lot by Stephen King

3. One book you'd want on a desert island: I'll take the Bible.

4. One book that made you laugh: I Should Have Seen it Coming When the Rabbit Died by Teresa Bloomingdale. Teresa was a Catholic mother of ten wild kids and her adventures with them are gut busters.

5. One book that made you cry: Madam Bovary.

6. One book you wish would have been written: There and Back Again: A Catholic Girl Survives Lousy Catechesis and College and Comes Back to the Church in Relatively One Piece.

7. One book you wish had never been written: Having it All by Helen Gurley Brown. That book was a soul destroyer.

8. One book you are currently reading: Emma and the Vikings. It's a biography about Anglo Saxon Queen Emma.

9. One book you have been meaning to read: St. Faustina's diary.

10. Tag some others: Anyone reading this.

random thoughts for a Thursday night

1. Here is a video of solemn high Tridentine Mass. The video quality is so poor that when I first saw it I thought, 'Oh shit, my contacts must have fallen out somewhere,' but when I looked up everything was normal so I knew for sure it was the video. Hat tip to the spunky young priest, Fr. Tucker of Dapped Things.


2. I'm sick of hearing about Stephen Colbert.


3. I thought all Carmelite nuns were contemplatives but that's not so. This fantastic looking order also does teaching and retreats.

4.I spent the weekend reading this book. The author was ordained a priest very late in life and has recently passed away.

5. Check out the preaching of Fr. Larry Richards.

But for the grace of God....

I can't join the feeding frenzy on Mel Gibson that most of the big Catholic blogs are engaged in right now. Alcoholism runs in my family. I've seen some things you wouldn't believe. Some of my relatives are the sweetest finest people you could ever meet but give them a sip of home brew, a bottle of beer or a shot of whiskey and they turn uglier than a one eyed bastard billy goat.

Considering what lurks in my own family tree all I can do is look at Mel's situation and say, "There but for the grace of God go I".

And since Hollywood is chock full of drunks, junkies, adulterers, fornicators, wife beaters and a whole lot worse I have to ask why this personal tragedy is such big news.