Three of the saddest words a Catholic can ever read

The bishop knew.

The Washington Times reports that Bishop DiLorenzo of Richmond, Virginia knew that a young girl in the care of Catholic Charities was going to have an abortion.

There are only two decent things that can be done now. Catholic Charities in Richmond needs to get out of the child care business and the bishop should resign. A human being is dead-- slaughtered most cruelly.

The head of the Richmond diocese can't just say "sorry" and have this all go down the memory hole.

The bishop knew. Oh my God. The bishop knew.

sally quinn

I've never thought much of Washington Post, journalist Sally Quinn, other than that she certainly married well. At Tim Rusert's funeral she took Communion. She's not Catholic. I'm not sure what denomination she is or even if she's Christian at all. It was wrong of her to do this of course, but how many unworthy Catholics got into that Communion line as well?

I'll bet that most of the Catholics Sally Quinn knows are the go along and get along type who find Fr. Corapi embarrasing , mock their own devout grandmother's devotions in public and would no more go to Eucharistic Adoration than they would attend a square dance.

When we Catholics don't act right we make a statement to the world. Many of us behave as if we really don't care that the Host is Jesus Himself so why should non Catholics?

How many contracepting Catholics proudly take Holy Communion?
How many Catholic Obama supporters take Communion?
How many co-habiting Catholics take Communion?
How many Catholics "married" only civily take Communion?
How many Catholics who haven't been to Confession in years take Communion?
How many Catholics who only go to Mass on Easter, Ash Wednesday and Christmas go up for Communion?
How many single and fornicating Catholics take Communion without so much as a second thought?


Again, my opinion of Sally Quinn has never been very high but we Catholics need to get our acts together.

the tragedy of american girlhood

Yesterday as Rocky and I were going to Mass we saw three young prostitutes in front of the church. Our parish isn't in that kind of neighborhood and we were so startled that we had to stare. Then it dawned on me that these girls looked too healthy to be hookers. Their heaving bosoms-- each one wore a low cut strapless or spaghetti strap mini dress--- were dusted with glitter powder. Their makeup was precise, their shoes were shiny and new. There were no scrapes or bruises on their arms or thighs. The clothes they wore, while being little more than a few feet of material were made of quality material. They looked a bit like the Diamond Dogs from Moulin Rouge. It took a lot of money to look as cheap as they did.

I gasped because it occured to me that these were actually the teenaged daughters of parishioners and they were coming to Mass. Then they strutted past the church. They were headed to the nightclub down the street. Rocky and I wondered if their parents let them out like that and we were chagrinned to think that the clothes prostitutes wore in the late 70s and 80s are now ordinary fashion for young girls. What the heck went wrong with the adults in this country?

Teenaged girls are a lot like bison. They are amazing but surprisingly fragile under the right set of circumstances. They are high strung, easily spooked and when under stress they don't act at all with what you would consider good sense. They don't nessacarily know what is good for them. They can be easily destroyed with the right weapon and need careful protection by those who care about them.

Wow. A whole lot of Catholic women need to read this.

I was reading American Rumpo's blog when I came across this question and answer :

If you think your husband is not doing enough spiritually why don't you ask yourself what you are doing to encourage his lack of interest. Because your nagging and shaming is just going to make matters worse!

You can read the rest here.

I know a woman, a very fine person who is the mother of several children. She's dissatisfied with her husband in every way but financially. Boy, I wish I had the nerve to send this to her. It's the answer to her frustrations in a nutshell but I doubt that she'd even realize it. Misery blinds and binds.

a prayer for priests

O Mary, Mother of Jesus
you were with Jesus
at the beginning of His life and mission.
You stood beside Jesus when He was lifted
on the cross and gave His life for all.
We ask you now to be with our priests,
who give themselves in service to God's people.
Intercede for them that they may grow in holiness;
proclaim God's word with courage;
celebrate the sacraments with joy;
and be among God's people as Jesus,
the Good Shepherd, was.
We offer this prayer to God, the Father,
through your intercession,
in the name of your Son, Jesus,
and through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen

The Holy Father makes a move

The serious, big time Catholic blogs are all attwitter because it seems like sort of agreement may be made between the Vatican and the FSSPX. What will happen? God only knows but this is an exciting time to be Catholic. The Holy Father may be 81, but he's not content to just be a placeholder pope for a few years. He's really taking care of business. I can't wait to see what he'll do next. The balls in Bishop Fellay's court now, I guess.

Please pray for these two priests

Whenever I think of Fr. Haley and Fr. Clark I feel sadness and shame for the diocese. The Arlington diocese is better than most but considering where the most are at, that aint saying much.

Oh gee! This is even yuckier than Theology of the Body class

Father Ksawery Knotz of Poland has a website on good old fashioned earthy but "creative " married sex. Please Father Knotz! Don't tell me any more.

rough week

There were two baby showers at work this week. I didn't go to either one. I've been grouchy all week and actually ran down a hall and on to an elevator to avoid a conversation with a co-worker who's mother-in-law is ill. I just couldn't stand to hear her sad story. It was more than my last good nerve could handle. My fight or flight reflexes were on high alert. Several people were laid off this week as well and that bothered me to no end. I liked three of them and didn't get to say good bye becuase they were hustled out of the office so fast.

Thank God for the weekend and thank God for my parish. Although, my mind wasn't really settled and I failed to pay attention for most of the Vigil Mass (mea culpa!) I was comforted by the Eucharist and it was good to see our Parochial Vicar, Fr. Aragorn before he leaves us for St. John, the Beloved. We are getting another PV, of course. I'm looking forward to meeting him and figuring out what his nick-name should be. And thank God, we still have our Pastor, Fr. Theoden, who is one of the finest priests I've ever been blessed to learn from.

And finally, thank God for my husband, Rocky, who's been very patient this week. Marriage isn't 50/50. Never has been, never will be. Sometimes it's 60/40, sometimes it's 80/10. This week Rocky gave 80+.




Batter my heart, three person'd God; for, you
As yet but knocke, breathe, shine, and seeke to mend;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow mee, and bend
Your force, to breake, blowe, burn and make me new.
I, like an usurpt towne, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but Oh, to no end,
Reason, your viceroy in mee, mee should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weake or untrue,
Yet dearely I love you, and would be lov'd faine,
But am betroth'd unto your enemie,
Divorce mee, untie, or breake that knot againe,
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.
John Donne (1572-1631) P. 1633

I don't give a dime to Catholic Charities

More than a workers at your local Catholic Charities aren't Catholic at all or don't profess everything the Church teaches. Here in my own Virginia, Catholic Charities workers provided a teenaged girl with a contraceptive device and when it didn't work helped her get an abortion.

Pray for our priests!

On Holy Thursday, Our Lord instituted the priesthood. On this day take a second to pray for our priests. I found a nice little video on priesthood on Gloria TV. Take a look here.


When I saw this at the Holy Cards blog, my eyes filled with tears of love. Let's never take our priests for granted.

My soul doth magnify the Lord

I was in such a snit after reading the Angelqueen posts on why Catholic women should NEVER get a college education (Good luck untrained ladies if your husband dies young or divorces you. Divorce happens, even to women whose husbands always said their prayers every night and didn't miss a Sunday Mass. Being left with the kids and no job skills is no picnic.). So I went to Gloria TV and listened to this beautiful version of the Magnificat in Russian.

silly

I was reading Angelqueen today and came across a conversation on whether young Catholic women should go to college. Most folks thought not. Apparently education turns Catholic girls into sluts/feminists and/or Protestants. It also apparently drives them from motherhood. What silliness. Now not everybody needs to go to college. I don't have a BA and I've done okay. I'm not sure I want one either but suppose I had the right mind to be a lawyer or a doctor and had been thrawted? That woud've been a tragedy. I have a Great Aunt who is a genius. She never got to go to college because she was a poor girl and because it was the segregation era. There is so much she could've done and never got the chance. St. Teresa of Avila was no dummy. St. Getrude, the Great was an educated woman. St. Gianna was a doctor. If you think these ladies were less than good Catholics you need to take that argument up with God and see how far you get.

Every forum has it's share of cranks but I was really shocked at the Angelqueen folks this time. They came off more like fundamentalist Muslims than American Catholics. I'm genuinely disgusted.

I hate June

It's Father's Day month which always depresses me a little and today we just found out that our parochial vicar is leaving us to go to St. John the Beloved. Farewell, Fr. Aragorn. I knew that brilliant mind wouldn't be allowed to stay long at our little parish but we will miss him.

i love being Catholic

With apologies to the Discovery Channel....



Boom de yadda, Boom de yadda, Boom de yadda

I love confessionals
I love that state of grace

I love the Holy Face
and the sacred space
Boom de yadda, Boom de yadda, Boom de yadda

I love being Catholic ......Ooooh!

I love Jesus and His Mama too
I love the scent of incense-- fresh and new
Boom de yadda, Boom de yadda

I love being Catholic.... Oooh!


Yeah, it's goofy but love 'll do that to ya.

Hope

I saw this picture of the Catholic Knight blog and something about it stopped me and held my attention. When Sharon Stone (revolting woman, yes) said that perhaps China was reaping what it sowed in sins with its earthquake many people responded angrily. She even lost her modeling gig with Dior. I know it's unpopular to even mention that God still judges the nations but didn't our Lady say at Fatima that war was a punishment for sin? Didn't she plead time and time again for nations to repent? And isn't there an horrible amount of bad right here, right now in this country? I'm not even going to get into the abortion crime -- Americans are obsesessed with mindless sex and teenagers chat blythely about acts of fornication that would've made their grandfather's blush with shame to even mention out loud. A good chunk of our population worships animals and nature. Homosexality has become something that you dare not criticize in public. Marriage has been horribly weakend by no fault easy divorce laws and cohabitation is practiced openly. Bastardy is not considered something to be avoided anymore. It's as if most of us have lost our minds. And yet, when I look at this picture I feel hope. Some bad stuff is coming down the pike for this country and being a democracy we will have it coming to us ---good and hard too---but the church that Christ handed to Peter will go on. Love will go on. In the end Mary's Immaculate Heart will triumph.

Of silly asses and priests who need prayer.

"He's a black Jesus stuck in a white man's body," said Oralee Williams, 48. "He's the best.".... She's talking about her pastor, Fr. Pfleger. Oralee, my sister.....

O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests: who as a pledge of Thine own most tender love will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the souls of men.
May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.
Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.
Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for Thy beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love.’

Catholic Camps

To be Catholic in America is to belong to different camps. Some of us act like Pentecostals, some think it's eternally 1972, others have left the battlefield altogether and went to SSPX or became sedevatcantists. Others, perhaps the majority stayed but decided to have no part in the parish life other than toss a buck in the collection basket once a week. Those who send their kids to the parish school are heavily involved in the school but inadvertently make the parishioners who don't have kids feel second class.

The Hispanics have their own masses and groups and don't interact with the rest of the parish at all. They aren't encouraged to either. From what I've seen this is the way most of the non Hispanic parishioners like it and they go to sometimes comic lengths to avoid being around while the Spanish Mass or rosary is going on. The Koreans and Vietnamese Catholics are given their own parishes completely. Black Catholics either go to their own parishes or often times find themselves isolated at other parishes.

It could be argued that the Church in America has always accommodated ethic parishes---- I agree but look how it turned out. Those lovely old churches in the city that were all Polish or German or Irish emptied out in the 60s when desegregation came along those folks ran to the suburbs. Those churches are closed or have Mass only in the morning and lunch time for folks who come into the city to work. Isolation doesn't help the church and when the neighborhood changes things get greasy. I don't know what the answer is but this separatism just doesn't seem right.

north carolina

Rocky and I went to Hickory, North Carolina to buy furniture. The trip was successful. We stayed at the Park Inn and shopped on Twenty Miles of Furniture Highway and the Catawba Furniture Mall. On Friday we visited St. Aloyius in Hickory. It was very nice. The people were friendly and we saw both the pastor and the parochial vicar in the church. They have a lovely adoration chapel.
On Saturday we went to Blowing Rock, NC and it was incredible. It was like being in Fairyland. We will definitely go back for a vacation one day. The parish is Our Lady of the Epiphany and it's a mission church. They have Mass on Sundays at 10 and the pastor, Fr. Joe is a very fine man who took time from his very busy schedule to chat with us.

This morning we went to Mass at St. Francis of Assisi in Lenoir. That was weird. They cancelled Mass in order to have the church picnic. They left no sign on the door and about 8 people including us (tourists and locals) were standing around looking unhappy. Finally a nice woman showed up and told us all that the picnic was today. Rocky and I were disgusted. You cancel the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the mystery of Faith for a hotdogs, burritos and beer in the park? For shame.

There was one other weird thing we noticed. Every parish directory in the Charlotte diocese had a listing for the anullment contact person. Interesting diocese ya got there, Bishop Jurgis.

Praise the Lord!

Cardinal George has told Fr. Pfleger to sit down, hush up and think about himself for awhile.

Pray for the cardinal and pray for the poor priest who has been chosen to temporarily replace Fr. Pfleger. And pray for the parishioners of St. Sabina.

confessions

• I don't like G.K. Chesterton.
  
  
• I think C.S. Lewis should've stopped after Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It was a truly great book. All the rest in the series bored me.
  
  
• I've never been able to get through the Reed of God by Caryll Houselander.
  
  
• I don't see the point of the Charismatic movement. If you start rolling around the floor and laughing in my presence unless you are three years old, I'm going to assume it's a seizure or the DTs and not the Holy Spirit.
  
  
• I think most professional lay apologists are half a step from Elmer Gantry.
  
  
• I wish the Church would just let the whole World Youth Day thing go.
  
  
• If I see that a parish has a NeoCatechumical Way group I leave----fast.
  
  
• I think that JPII was a very holy man but I don't want him to be cannonized yet. Let's calm down and give the Church time to prudently examine his case.
  
  
• I think Medjugorje is a crock.
  
  
• The Catholic Back to the landers make me roll my eyes.

Psst. Wanna improve vocations numbers?

Here are two suggestions:

1. Move the effeminate priests into the chancery or to non-parish assignments. Back when I was growing up there were so many soft looking and acting priests walking around that parishioners were startled and delighted when a priest came along who was manly. I'm not saying these guys are gay and that doesn't matter in this context. No young man wants to hang around with the squishy, effeminate guy. He may be polite to him. He may respect his office but he'd never in a million years want to go to the seminary if he believes all the other guys are going to be like Fr. Skippy.
   
   


2. Stop showing those horribly girly looking paintings of Jesus. No man wants to look like that and you frighten guys into thinking that holiness is strictly woman stuff: