I don't get it

A priest in England got a bit bothered by this mosaic in Westminster Cathedral. With all due respect to a highly learned and sophisticated man of God, I don't get it. I'm an Philistine, I guess.

Massacre of the Innocents

We have many Herods in the USA. The slaughter continues.

I hope the Pope is okay

A crazy woman threw herself on him and knocked him down. He's continued on with Mass but he's 82. A shock and blow like that is not good. Someone in security should offer a resignation as soon as they get back to the Vatican. This is the same woman who tried to grab him last year. Is this to be an annual event?

The Cherry Tree Carol

King of Kings--- my favorite scene

In the 1927 Cecile B. DeMille produced King of Kings. I think it's better than the remake in the 60s. It has a few flaws of course. The scrouging and crucifixion are too neat and clean. There is barely are scratch on Jesus. He just looks tired and sad. The actor playing Jesus is too old at first glance but he's magnificent. The actress playing Mary is wonderful but a bit too young next to Jesus. I liked how it shows Judas constantly, slyly causing trouble. He's so slick and polished that it's a huge moment when Peter looks at him with shock because he's slipped and shown his true heart.

I loved how Mary doesnt' seem the least bit alarmed when two dirty and ragged little children show up at her window wanting to see Jesus. She takes the girl in her arms and brings her to Jesus. DeMille showed an excellent little theological moment there.

Blessed--- oops, excuse me--- Venerable Pius XII

Thank you, Holy Father! Pope Pius's name has been slandered long enough. He did more to help Jews in Europe than anyone else. Before Pearl Harbor, FDR turned fleeing Jews away. England didn't exactly open her arms to millions either, although in fairness England was busy being hammered by the Germans. During the war, the Allied forces were aware of that Jews were being sent to concentration camps but bombing the train tracks and roads that led to the camps was not done.

I realize that some groups have protested the pope's beatification. They should be politely ignored.

i tore up my Catholic Charities envelope

I stopped giving to Catholic Charities some time ago because a lot of what they do isn't Catholic and frankly I'd rather give directly to a real Catholic charity that I trust. Last year we had the scandal of Catholic Charities workers helping a girl get an abortion. This year in Roanoke a group refugee teens brought there by a Catholic resettlement agency, decided to repay this mercy by kidnapping a woman and holding her for ransom. The plot fell apart and the woman escaped but she was badly truamatized and is afraid to leave her house now.

I'll bet that no-one from Catholic Charites apologized to poor Mrs. Levicki and sadly, I'll bet that her opinion of the Catholic Churh is pretty darn low at this point.

Apparently there have been a number of unpleasant incidents in Roanoake since the refugees arrived and it's not because the locals are mean or racist, some of the biggest complaints have come from black Americans. My own experience with a sudden refugee drop was no picnic either. A few years ago a church group (I used to think it was the Episcopalians but now I'm not so sure), settled Somali refugees in my building. The result was horrible. The wives and mothers had never seen stoves before and the fire department had to come once or twice a week for months. One awful night we had two kitchen fires a few hours apart. The smells in the hallway were sickening because goat tripe is apparently a staple of the Somali diet. The neighbors complained vigorously and the resettlement people moved the refugees out of here. Nobody asked the neighbors if we were prepared to live in constant fear of fire. Nobody apparently prepared the Somalis for modern life. Nobody apologized. It was a miserable mess for everyone. Soft hearts shoudn't mean soft minds.

snow has turned the place into a marshmallow world

Well, global warming freaks ,DC, MD and VA just got hit with the biggest accumulation of snow fall in 70 years. Hah! It's amazing. The whole world sounds like it's under a blanket. The snow has been falling since Friday night and I can't see anything but white. The sky is white, the ground is white, there are gray shapes bumbling around in the snow---the neighbor kids, I guess. Earler I saw the occasional SUV going by but now the road is completely empty. Rocky, God bless him, is at work.

I was worried a bit about missing Mass but I just heard that the Archdiocese has forgiven the Mass obligation for this weekend. That's the first time I've ever heard of this happening. As soon as I finish putting up the tree I'm going outside to play in the snow.

You can't always judge a parish by the church's looks

Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria, VA is one of the ugliest churches I've ever seen. It has cinder block walls, glass brick, miles of dirty beige carpet and you have to walk all over the building in order to find the surly ladies in the office. It looks like a 1970s minimum security prison BUT it has a serenely beautiful Sacred Heart chapel, an adoration chapel that always has a least one or two people praying no matter what time I drop by and it has sterling priests, Fr. Cregan says a straight Mass by the rubrics and adds no nonsense, plus he's a good confessor. And they have night masses and confession all during Advent.


St. John the Beloved in MacLean is odd looking. It's a round church so you can see your fellow parishoners and they can see you-- don't scratch or pick your nose. The floor slopes like a movie theater. It's pretty painful on Rocky's arthritic knee because the floor is always pressing him foreward and I even experienced a bout of nausea/vertigo while walking to my pew BUT it's a loved church. Someone tried very hard to bring beauty to that odd design and it worked. The Blessed Sacrament, not the priest is right in the middle and visible to all. The tabernacle is gorgeous. Fr. Aragorn is the pastor there now and he's a dynamic speaker and confessor. He will not tell you what you want to hear but only what you need to hear. His counsel may sting a bit but so does alcohol when you put it on a wound. Until you get that sting, the wound won't begin to heal. AND they have the Tridentine Mass.

four odd things about me---

I can't stand sitting with my back to the door in restaurants. I'm intensely disturbed by the idea sititng in the middle of the dinning area too. Rocky sometimes calls my his little Wild Bill Hickcock.

If you give me most forms of bread I'll eat the inside but never, ever the crust. Rocky eats that.

I misplaced my cell phone in my own bedroom and had to go find my glasses-- also misplaced in order to see well enough to find the phone. This excercise took about an hour.

I fantasize about buying a farmette, raising my very own hog and taking him to pig shows.

While America is obsessed with Tiger Wood's sex life, (prurient interest is a sin, I think); deadly serious things are happening in the world that could very well get a lot of us killed. It's barely been reported but five young Muslims from Northern Virginia were caught in Pakistan. They went for jihad. These miserable slugs all lived in my town. All came from comfortable homes.

One of these guys was studying medicine at Howard Univerisity, the school my brother-in-law graduated from. All of them were said to be devout, quiet and "nice" guys, as pleasant and peaceful as lambs. They went to a mosque that is less than ten miles from my home. These wannabe jihadis walked my streets, took the local bus, drove on the same roads as I and my family and friends, and they went to work and the mall like nomal people.

They smiled and seemed so normal and all the time they were burning with hate. All the time they were dreaming of killing Americans.

When is this country going to wake up? Why do we allow immigration from certain countries? They were caught this time but will we be as blessed next time?

Wickedness that takes my breath away

Sr. Donna Quinn shames herself , St. Dominic, and her order when she makes the foul statement that Mary, the Blessed Virgin, the saint of saints expressed "choice."

Sr. Donna, how dare you use Mary as a pro abortion argument! Woman, you are a Bride of Christ, what is WRONG with you? Put a habit on, withdraw in silence to a decent convent and ponder your poor decisions.

I am the Immaculate Conception

Yesterday Rocky and I went to St. Matthews Cathedral for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It was wonderful. We were at the 5:30 Mass and it was packed. Young Fr. Regan gave a fine homily.

The triumph of the cads

I keep hearing women babble on and on about choice and freedom and why we must ---absolutely must be able to slaughter our own children in the womb or we won't have lives worth living.

These poor creatures don't realize how pitiful and defeated they are. They think they're winners, they think they're free. Instead the whole abortion movement has been a triumph for bad men.

Once upon a time a man knew that if he had sex with the girl next door, or the girl from church or the quiet girl in the back row of his algebra class he was running up a debt that would have to be paid. If she got pregnant a whole lot of people would come down on him and he could marry the girl or forfeit his reputation and his position in town. Now, if a girl gets pregnant the man can say "Get an abortion or I'm gone." I once knew a girl in my senior class who got pregnant twice by her boyfriend. He treatened to stop seeing her if she didn't get an abortion. She did both times and guess what? When graduation came he headed off to college and dumped her anyway. He used her for sex and paid no social consequences at all.

Another friend got pregnant by a real piece of work. He was an alchoholic and dangerous. She did not marry him of course and did not have the abortion he wanted either. In exchange for releasing him from any legal custody or financial responsibility to their son she the boy are safe.

Pregnant women get assaulted and killed in shocking numbers in this country. Many modern American males expect that abortion safety valve to protect them from taking repsonsiblity for their actions and the bad ones can get vicious when the woman refuses to kill the baby.

So many pro life workers have told sad stories of seeing unhappy and sometimes crying women being led into abortion clinics by grim faced men. You call that freedom? The confused, frightened woman who is being forced into the killing room by a cold hearted paramour is less free than her great great grandmother ever could've imagined.

Puer Natus in Bethehem

This is my favorite chant.

O come, o come Emmanuel

Thinking themselves wise, they became fools.

This painting is Dante and Virgil in hell by one of my favorite artists, William-Adolphe Bouguereau. It came to mind when I read that the DC City Council has voted to legalize gay marriage. This is a cause that means diddly squat to the lives of most of the inhabitants of my childhood home. DC has high crime, high poverty, schools so bad that no-one under the age of 45 can remember when they weren't rotten, and the highest rate of AIDS in America.

You could visit hell bringing a ladder, a rope and wings and no-one there would notice. The inhabitants are too busy wallowing in their own anguish and hate of themselves and everything else that the light of hope couldn't penetrate their minds. Of course, being in hell they have no other option but to torment themselves. I don't know what the DC Council's excuse is.

the Manhattan Declaration

Here is the Manhattan Declaration. So far, 12 bishops have signed their signatures to it. UPDATE --- Restore DC Catholicism, a blog I respect has a critical evaluation of the Manhattan Declaration that is worth consideration.


Fear nobody but His Majesty in Heaven

Trad spokesmen need to do better

Years ago, I read and enjoyed two of Scott Hahn's earlier books but after his comments on traditionally minded Catholics and the Tridentine Mass I don't care for him anymore. I feel uneasy about lay people making their living from talking or writing about the Church. I don't like the cult of personality that has sprung up around a number of these people. I cringe when I hear someone say, "Well Christopher West says, or Scott Hahn says..... so it must be right."

I am uncomfortable when recent converts stand up and make a career out of preaching to Catholics. St. Paul spent three years in the dessert praying and learning after he was knocked off his horse. And he didn't make any coin off of evangelizing.

Having said all that I really was shocked at this post on another blog. Attack Scott Hahn, if you want, on the grounds that his theology isn't right, or that his books are too pop Catholic lite, or make any other reasoned argument you want but this blogger came off as well.. bitter, unreasonbly angry, envious, frankly, a little nuts. As I read his piece I kept asking myself 'Dude, if you hate Scott Hahn so much then why did you go hear him talk?'

If you repulse people, even sympathetic people because you sound unhinged then you've failed to make your point. I see this kind of thing on Angelqueen all the time, vast amounts of anger and something close to hatred. That doesnt' work. What the traditionalist camp needs is visible happy warriors. As Teddy Roosevelt once said, I like a man who grins when he fights. Show people how much your life has changed for the better since you found the Tridentine Mass or since you finnally found a reverent NO Mass. Talk about your love for the Church, our Mother. She may act like a menopausal woman who's decided to go to a rave party but she is our Mother and we need to love her and stand by her even at the point of dying. Point out what's wrong, like St. Catherine of Sienna or St. Athanatius, but don't give in to despair and incoherent rage.

I read an Angelqueen posting by one guy who spewed venom on the Holy Father, (and he lost me right there), and anyone who attends a NO Mass. This guy forgot that most Catholics have never had access to a Tridentine Mass and unless their bishops are obedient they never will. He cheerfully, gleefully consigned all those folks to hell. I ask you, why would anyone want to hang out with a person like that?

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for the four bishops who did not allow a Catholic Campaign for Human Development collection in their dioceses.

I'm thankful to have Rocky as my husband.

I'm thankful to live in America. Our president constantly runs our country down but if you ever doubt that this is the best country on earth just chat with your immigrant neighbors. Some risked their lives to make it to this "mean" country, as Mrs. Obama once called it. Others have spent huge amounts of money, study and years of effort to become citizens. All of them would scream and wail if you ever tried to send them home permanently.

I'm thankful that my mother will be with us for Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm thankful for Bishop Tobin of Rhode Island.

I'm thankful for women like Mary Ann Kreitzer

I'm really thankful that my vacum cleaner works because I haven't (blush) touched it all month.

I'm thankful that my Church is under constant attack in the media. Yes, really. They hate the Church because it is the One, Holy and Catholic and Apolstolic church. They hate Jesus and so they hate His bride, the Church. Nobody makes fun of Jehovah's Witnesses or Mennonites.Why? Because those groups are no threat to the world, the flesh and the devil. I take comfort in being in Peter's boat.

I'm thankful for a few days off from work because I really need the break.

One more thing, please pray for us. Rocky's people are also coming to Thanksgiving dinner. UPDATE ----Dinner went fine. Big Daddy, my father-in-law was a perfect gentleman. Thank you, Lord!

Oh Catholic bride--- put your clothes on.

Rod and I went to a wedding last night. I didn't want to go but the groom is a friend of Rocky's so I had to and once I got there it was fine. I won't say what church it was for reasons that will be obvious in a second.

What is this thing that Catholic girls seem to have about strapless wedding dresses? The bride's dress was lovely but we didn't need to see her semi naked self. Ladies save your candy for the bedroom. You are making a life long vow before Christ, the King. Show Him respect. And the bride was not entirely kind to the fatter bridesmaids. They didn't need the plunging front and back necklines or the sleeveless gowns either. Oh well, the reception was great.

This Sunday please don't give to the CCHD collection

The Catholic Campaign for Human Developement gives your money to non Catholic, frequently non Christian organizations. This Sunday ignore the second collection and give to a real Catholic charity of your choice. Here are some of my favorites.

The Edmundite Missions

Little Sisters of the Poor

La Salle Academy

St. Labre Indian School

Be like Mary, run to Jesus

This is one of the most powerful moments of Passion of the Christ. One of these days I hope to be able to run to Jesus and I hope He's pleased to see me.

Novus Ordo Mass like I've never seen it before.

I saw this on the Catholic Knight blog.

Mass tonight and raggedy thoughts

The stained glass windows look peacock blue when Mass starts in the Winter. By the time Father gets to the gospel the windows look black and you can suddenly appreciate the intricate masonry. The music tonight was lovely. The cantor was in fine voice , our new altar boy is tiny and cute as a button, and although we had a pack of babies in attendence they were all cheerful, fed, watered and dry bottomed. Nobody screamed, nobody had a tantrum and nobody threw anything.

I was quite impressed to see three young men who arrived well before Mass. One was in his 20s the others looked like they were in there 30s. One sat behind us and his responses were in exquisite Latin. Ladies there are young, suitable for marriage, heterosexuals in the pews and if for some reason your parish doesn't attract men you need to go to another one because something unhealthy is happening at yours.

Fr. Frodo gave a scholarly homily and once again I was struck by how smart he is. We are incredibly lucky to have someone with that kind of brain for our parochial vicar.

So many Catholics consume priests like Ipods, or hamburgers; something that should satisfy us but we never say thanks. We never pray for the priest or encourage him and Lord knows we complain, complain, complain. Usually about stupid stuff. Fr. didn't praise your altar floral arrangement? Well of course, not dear. Very few normal men give a hoot about flowers. Fr. was short with you when you dropped in on him at the rectory? Well maybe, he was trying to get to the hospice to see old Mrs. Magillacudy before she dies and why were you dropping in unannounced on a priest anyway? Fr. corrected you for splashing the Precious Blood all over the sink in the sacristy? Good! You weren't supposed to do that and you shouldn't be a eurcharistic minister if you're going to be that sloppy and sacreligious. Fr. asked you to stop wearing those butt crack jeans to Mass? You should've already been ashamed before he even spoke.

If you have a good priest and he loves the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, give thanks to God.

I don't go to Mass for the sake of the organist

I thought the purpose of Mass was Adoration, Thanksgiving, Atonement, Petition but apparently one of the New Liturgical Movement blogggers thinks there's a fifth purpose: boosting the musician's ego. There was a post arguing that it is mean and in bad taste to leave the Church while the organist is still playing the after Mass music. Nuts to that!

When the priest says "Go! The Mass is finished," and he walks out you can leave. I stay to say my thanksgiving prayers, Rocky usually talks to Father Theoden or Father Frodo or he helps carry something into the sacristy but we aren't hanging around to hear the music.

Our organist is actually a sensible man. He plays just enough to get Father out the door and then he quits. If your organist is playing 5 or more verses after Mass and Fatehr has long gone there is no reason in the world indulge him. It may be bad taste to leave but Holy Mother Church doesn't say we have to stay until the organist is done. Gee whiz.

Ft. Hood

I'm not a crying sort but I would like to weep now.

We really are doomed as a nation unless we slay the Politcal Correctness dragon and PDQ.




Fr. Cappadono,
Fr. Emil,
St. Martin
St. Michael, pray for the wounded and the slain.

I'm sorry, Fr. Z

Cheeky Pink Girl is right, his blog isn't much fun anymore.

Bluegrass Mass

The priest composer performer who came up with this Bluegrass Mass was inspired by being in Bristol, Virginia, the birthplace of Country Music. He means well but as I listened to the music I found myself chuckling.

Bless his heart.

St. John Vianney, pray for us.
St. Pio, pray for us.
Fr. Vincent Cappadono, pray for us.

sick

Gastro instestinal flu has laid me low.

Larry David is your fault if ...

1. you watch his show.
   
2. you heard that he urinated on a picture of Christ and just shrugged your shoulders and said, "Well, it's satire and at worst, a lapse in taste."
3. you plan to tune into his show next Sunday, just like always.
   
4. you cringed with sophisticated embarrassment when your Evangelical co-worker blasted Mr. David.

In reparation let us pray:

MAY THE MOST HOLY, MOST SACRED, MOST ADORABLE, MOST INCOMPREHENSIBLE AND UNUTTERABLE NAME OF GOD BE ALWAYS PRAISED, BLESSED, LOVED, ADORED AND GLORIFIED, IN HEAVEN, ON EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH, BY ALL THE CREATURES OF GOD, AND BY THE SACRED HEART OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, IN THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR. AMEN.

Folks, for the most part, Hollywood people are like prostitutes. They do it for the money, honey. What convictions, they have are shallower than a raindrop. When Mr. David see's a drop in his income he'll change his tune. Protests won't do it. Editorials won't do it. Lack of viewership will do it.

when nuns go bad

A large part of the crisis in the Church has been caused by women. When nuns go bad it leads to terrible things. Mostly it's angry nuns in butch haircuts and ill fitting pant suits talking about the Earth goddess. Sometimes it's nuns teaching heresy in CCD. And sometimes it's nuns walking women to an abortion clinic. I don't think Harry Potter is all that great but there is only word for this woman: Deatheater.

You know what I'm sick of? Kennedys meddling with the Church

A long, long time ago a young Bobby Kennedy went to hear Fr. Feeney give a talk. Fr. Feeney made his famous declaration that there's no salvation outside the church. Bobby had non Catholic friends and was worried about them. He went home and told his dad who said he'd speak to Richard about it. Who was Richard? Cardinal Cushing. "Richard" sent someone to investigate. Eventually Fr. Feeney was silenced, anyone who went to his center was refused the sacramant of marriage and he was temporarily execommunicated. I don't have any sympathy for Fr. Fenney. He seemed to have serious issues with obedience and certain classes of people, but something about this story bothered me. "Richard" was supposed to be the cardinal, not the personal errand boy for one powerful family.

Fast forward to today. Patrick Kennedy, Teddy's son made an attack statement about the Catholic Church. His bishop, thank God is not a lap dog and here is his response.

Patrick, your family may own the Boston diocese but you and your cousin, Kathleen do NOT own the Church and you DO NOT speak for Catholics.

the anglicans are coming...........

Once again, I am struck by how truly courageous and yes, awesome, Pope Benedict is. For a shy, quiet professor he really gets things done. Fr. Z, the American Papist and the Anchoress have the details of the Anglican arrangement and they discuss it better than I could.

Now, as to practical matters. How many Anglicans will really convert? If you're genuinely serious about becoming Catholic you do it. You do it even though your father is opposed, you do it even though the people at work will laugh, you do it even though your Aunt Mary will cut you out of her will. Converting is not always easy. My in-laws weren't happy when Rocky converted and occasionally my F-I-L, Big Daddy cracks a nasty joke.

I get the impression that the Anglo Catholics/Anglicans are very much attached to their beautiful old buildings--- this is not a criticism, Catholics have had sit ins to try to stall closing their parishes---and I don't see the Anglicans who are left behind willingly giving up their property. As for the married priests, they could be a problem. If a man can have one woman, he can have another. Preachers messing up sexually is common in Protestant denominations. And I'm concerned about the financial burden that will be placed on parishes in the event of priestly divorces. I don't want my weekly donations going to pay for the priest's child support. Sorry, I just don't.

All in all, an amazing thing has happened. The door is opened for Anglicans to come back to the Church. All they have to do is walk in.

Obama on your bible

I saw this on the Cheeky Pink Girl Blog. She's appalled and so am I.
This is a an Obama bible cover. Our country is riding the crazy train and I fear that we can't get off in time. This is all going to end in tears.

My God, have mercy

Mass with Fr. Marchado

Fr. Clement Marchado, SOLT celebrated a healing Mass last night at St. Anthony's in DC. The church is between the Basilica and the Franciscan monastery. It has plenty of parking, lovely, happy priests and the Blessed Sacrament is right in the middle of the santuary. Because of Rocky's arthritis we decided to go. Fr. Marchado belongs to the same order as Fr. Corapi so we knew he could preach and preach he did. Before Mass he blessed everyone's rosaries, medals, crucifixes, statutes, oil and salt. I got to confession and after Mass everyone who wanted it, got an individual blessing. The Knights of Columbia and the ushers provided crowd control and were there to catch anyone who was overcome during the blessing. Father must have read my soul and thought that I really needed a blessing because he annointed me with so much oil that I looked like a small greased pig when we left the church.

Mass of the Ages

Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. When Rocky told me I thought he was on a joke website but no..... this farce is not worthy of comment so instead I'll concentrate on the beautiful and the true....






See more at this lovely site.

A Padre Pio evening

Yesterday we went to St. Mary's in Alexandria, Virginia to hear Fr. Ermelindo DeCapua give a talk on Padre Pio. Fr. DiCapua lived with Padre Pio for the last three years of the saint's life. He brought a precious relic, one of the gloves that covered Padre Pio's stigmata and blessed us all with it. Rocky estimated that there must've been about 600 people in attendence. Fr. DiCapua is touring America and raising funds for a home for sick old priests to retire to.

Jezu ufam Tobie!

That's Polish for Jesus, I trust in You! Rocky and I went to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Baltimore. It's stunning and a very special place becuase the former pastor Fr. Pytel was blessed with the miracle needed for St. Faustina's cannonization. We also stopped by the Seton House and St. Alphonsus.

the kindest of men--Rocky

Yesterday Rocky took my mother to Target and to Bed Bath & Beyond. She hasn't been shopping in four months so it was a major buying trip and yes, he spent hours pushing the cart around and making trips to the car. And then he took us all to dinner. Later he restocked her supply of bottled water and hooked up her HDTV cables. Rocky loves my mother and anytime she need something he's there.

Christopher West, the Catholic sexologist probably wouldn't be too impressed but I'm so grateful to have such a good, kind man for my husband.

Earlier this week a woman I know mentioned that she showed her husband a job posting that would, if he got it, take him to Iraq or Afghanistan for a year. She said she'd miss him but all the bills and a good chunk of the mortgage could be paid off. My reaction was to think that she was kidding, then it was to wonder WTH was wrong with her. I just looked at her while she excitedly talked about the job.

Now granted, Rocky and I have a very different relationship than she and her husband do and we have only been apart for about two weeks in the last 21 years (I had to go to South Carolina to take care of some family business and he couldn't get off from work) but I can't imagine --not on my worst most bitchy day actually wanting him to go to a war zone (bombs, fire, dead buddies, possibly getting your head sawed off) to fix our finances. I feel sorry for that woman's husband, who already has a job that he apparently likes by the way, and I hope his feelings weren't hurt. A loving husband is more than just a paycheck.

St. Therese, send me a rose.........

Don't go to Medjugorje

The local bishop has made his views as clear as day. So much money has been made and so many people have hung their faith on this, (false, I think) apparition that I suspect the show will go on in disobedience to the bishop.

Don't go to Medjugorje. Go to Lourdes, go to Fatima, go to Akita or Knock. Go somewhere that has been judged worthy of belief.

This made me laugh

I saw this on the Athanatius Contra Mundum blog. Most of the posters were horrified but I had to laugh. Why? Because this is exactly what Mass was like when I was a little kid. In fact, if you go to a hippie parish that's full of 60somethings, the Mass is probably still like this. The first time I heard Latin in church and later, chant I thought it sounded like Heaven. To this day I prefer a silent Mass over anything that involves a band and a guitar.

Well, I'm not going back there again.

There are three churches in my diocese that I will never set foot in again hopefully.
St. Charles Boromeo in Arlington, Good Shepherd and Queen of Peace. St. Charles has a really strange vibe and after reading this I see why.

The race thing

I am the descendant of West African slaves and Irish immigrants with a few rogue Scots thrown in for extra spice. There are great tragedies and triumphs in my family tree. My ancestors paid a hell of a price for me to be here today and it irks me when people try to put me in a category box. I am not an African-American. I don't do hyphens. I've traced my mother's family tree back to the 1800s. That's several generations removed from Africa. My folks have been here a long time and have a mighty stake in this country though schemers like Jesse Jackson try to claim otherwise. I am an American, thank you.

Perhaps if Thomas Jefferson had supported his son-in-law's efforts to ban slavery, perhaps if Abraham Lincoln hadn't gone to the Ford theater, perhaps if more people had only listened to Booker T. Washington my kin would've had a different fate in this country but that's not how things went down and it can't be changed.

A lot of nice, well meaning white people voted for Obama thinking that it would somehow heal the race issues of this country. I knew that it wouldn't and in fact, I think the race thing has gotten worse. Say one word against Obama's policies and you get the racist card flung in your face. That's not right.


I don't know how to say this but here goes. A lot of black people hate you. Sorry. They hate you because their parents taught them to do it and the parents learned it from their parents. It was a survival mechanism back in the Jim Crow days. So today we have people who never went to a lynching, never knocked a black child down the stairs for kicks, never practiced placage with their black maid or committed outright rape, and wouldn't even dream of or approve of such things being loathed by blacks who never experienced any of that but believe today's whites are still capable of this.

What's the answer? Prayer, honesty and love for our country, I guess. In the mean times things are going to nastier. A lot nastier.

we are in trouble

I never thought I'd see this in America, never.








Our Lady, Queen of the Americas, pray for us. Mother, I know we don't deserve it but please pray for us.

St. Stephen, Martyr in Middleburg

Rocky had a rare Saturday off so we made the most of it. We visited the incredibly beautiful Long Branch in Millwood and trooped around the Virginia State Arboretum. I'm a bird watcher and was delighted to see one of the these little guys: a White breasted Nuthatch.

We checked Masstimes.org for the closest church and decided to go to St. Stephen's. I expected it to be a bit of an adventure. Middleburg is a special place. It's quiet old money and horses and skinny women who stay that way because they ride hard after the hounds. It's a place where you better not fake it because everyone knows if you belong or not. It's a place where flashy bad taste is not tolerated and new money means nothing. Sean Combs and Paris Hilton would be miserable.

The old woman in faded jeans and an ancient barn coat walking by is heiress to one of the biggest fortunes in America, the red faced "farmer" in the car full of dogs gave the money for most of the art exhibits you went to last year. The fresh faced little cherub on a pony is the son of a business titan. The daintly little cupcake of a girl at the ice cream stand spends her days training powerful, nervous thoroughbreds. It's that kind of place.

So when we rolled into St. Stephens I was delighted to find that nobody gave us the stinkeye. In fact, people were nice. No-one appeared to be disturbed or even surprised by our presence. Father had a gentle but clever sense of humor and gave an impressive homily.

The church decor is interesting. It's so carefully inoffensive that I think it must have built with the desire that it blend in with the rest of town. The paint is colonial white and blue gray. The statues are small and pale. The painting of St. Stephen is frankly, bad but the altar is large and tall and the Blessed Sacrament is right in front. You will not have to wander around this small church trying to figure out where Our Lord is. Mass was gentle and blessedly free of any weirdness. The music was okay. The cantor's voice was lovely. The lector did not show off. The decently dressed parishioners were prayerful before Mass and there was not a mad rush to leave after Communion. I was impressed by the very well behaved children. Since the Aboretum is open 365 days a year and is free, Rocky and I plan to get back there so we'll probably be praying at St. Stephen's again sometime.

Soft hearts are usually accompanied by softer brains

I don't give a dime to the Catholic Campaign for Human Developement because much of what it does is not Catholic. And it turns out that they give money to ACORN.

have you ever seen Christian art so bad that you cringed?

I think I may have found something that goes beyond kitsch.

Betraying our dead

This op/ed pretty much sums up how I feel.

9/11.......Eternal rest grant unto them oh Lord

We sit by and watch the Barbarian, we tolerate him; in the long stretches of peace we are not afraid. We are tickled by his irreverence, his comic inversion of our old certitudes and our fixed creeds refreshes us; we laugh. But as we laugh we are watched by large and awful faces from beyond: and on these faces there is no smile.
Hillaire Belloc

Pray for Fr. McBrien

Fr. McBrien is one of those priests who won't wear a cassock or his clericals. He is also, sadly one of those who turns his nose up at spending one hour with Jesus. When a priest starts talking in public like Fr. McBrien does you know that something has gone terribly wrong with his Faith and his vocation.

"Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament... " J.R.R. Tolkein

Old Labor day blues and Everybody knows

When I was a girl I always hated Labor Day because it meant I'd have to go back to school the next day. And one of the most hated parts of going to school was the annual "How I spent my vacation" essay. I, and all the working class kids at school loathed that. Our parents didn't spend weeks at the beach and there was no cabin at the lake. One or two of us had a relative who Summered but they were like my great aunt, Betsy, who was a nanny and spent her Summer at Hyannis taking care of someone else's kids. We were lucky--- very lucky if we got to go to an amusement park or a day trip to the beach at any time in the whole three months off. When I was very young my mother and I packed up and took the train to granny's house in South Carolina but that stopped once Mama went back to work when I was seven. My father, let me hasten to say, was a champion at taking me places on the weekend but as much as I enjoyed that it seemed so dull compared to the stuff the "rich" kids were writing about.

One of the attorneys at work was complaining that "in this economy" (I'm sick of that phrase) she and her husband will be doing a "staycation" and only will only spend a week at Martha's Vineyard this year. I looked at her and thought, "You make 170k and you want me at 42k to make sympathetic noises at you? You silly cow. "

I'm a bit sorry for that reaction but it's nothing compared to my father-in-law, Big Daddy, who spent his Summers working in the fields from sunup to sundown. If I were foolish enough to mention any vacation that Rocky and I have gone on he woud have (and has in the past) say or do something spectacularly offensive to force a change of subject matter.
..............................

Some people are still scandalized/saddened that Cardinal O'Malley was at Teddy Kennedy's funeral. Oh quit crying and get real folks. Is the sky rose colored in your world? Everybody knows what the dealio is in Boston. When has any high ranking clergyman ever said no to the Kennedy's? Of course O'Malley was there. At some point in your life a bishop will let you down, or even break your heart. But our faith is not tied to the failings or lack of spine of bishops. St. Athanatius and St. John Fisher are saints becuase they alone stood up when all their brothers decided to comprimise. Athanatius suffered a dry martydom of banishment and constant attack. St. John Fisher was beheaded and his body desecrated.

Take your precious gift of Faith and live for the Eucharist. Trust the Lord, trust Mary, trust Pope Benedict.

Be grateful that the Papal Nuncio was not there and be grateful that the Pope made no public condolence and that the Holy Father's letter to Senator Kennedy was no more than generic pleasantries. Be grateful that the Kennedy show is for all practical purposes, over. The only one of Joe and Rose Kennedy's children left, is Jean--- poor woman, it must be very sad to be the last sibling left--- and the Kennedy children are not impressive at all. The smartest ones seem to be Caroline and Jospeh and they are somewhat lacking once you get past the glamour.

Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Someone left a child's book about Mary in the vestibule of my church. I read it and the first couple of chapters were charming but because the author was a member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Fr. Feeney's group, I was cautious. And sure enough there was a problem. The author seemed to have a tremendous issue with Jews. When the book got to St. Joseph it states that God chose him for Mary because the saint was not a typical Jew in that he did not take part in the pursuit of money or power. Can you say stereotype, boys and girls? St. Joseph was not tycoon, obviously but he didn't work for free. He didn't go skipping around Nazareth with daisies and daydreams. Mary and Jesus lived off of what he made so I'm certain that he was quite serious about getting paid for his work.

The book then went on to state that St. Joseph went to the synagogue but had no official position there since he was not a show off. He even had (according to the book a gentile type job because Jews weren't good builders! I wonder who the author thought built all the houses and buildings in Israel. I almost never throw a book into the trash. I'll donate them, give them to friends or sell them but this thing had so little redeeming value I just couldn't pass it on to anyone else.

and baby makes 19

Mrs. Duggar is expecting another baby. This will make 19. I have no problem with the Duggars. Jim Bob and Michelle are married. The children and clean, healthy and seem happy. And they aren't on welfare so it's no business of mine how many kids they have. My only question is what kind of muscle tone does she have left? By now she must be depending on a girdle and adult diapers to keep everything in place.

God bless them all though. It takes a tough woman to be a mama. It's not for sissies.

iconfess

Father Michael Jude Fay died

Fr. Fay, the fallen Connecticut priest who embezzeled roughly a million dollars from his parish to finance his lavish lifestyle has died in prison. Being a prisoner must have been nigh on to unbearable for him. There are no Waterford crystal goblets, no beautiful decorations, no gorgeous flower arrangements and no pretty, prancing companions. I hope that in that prison he remembered Jesus and found peace.

Pray for our priests, the fallen ones, the straying ones, the ones who have given scandal, and the ones in Purgatory. And pray especially, for Fr. Michael Madden, the parochial vicar who exposed Fr. Fay and says he was threatened by the bishop for speaking up. Fr. Madden said that the four years he spent living in the rectory with Fr. Fay was a living hell and brokenhearted by the whole disgusting spectacle he has since left the priesthood. The priesthood has not left him, however,and God willing, someday he'll come back.


St. John Vianney, pray for us.
Blessed Brother Andre, pray for us.
Blessed Solanus Casey, pray for us.
Servant of God, Archbishop Sheen, pray for us.
Servant of God, Father Vincent Capadano, pray for us.
St. Therese, who did so love priests and sacraficed so much for them, pray for us.

The shadow of death

This is an interesting painting by William Hunt. I don't think it quite succeeds. I like the way Mary is shown as being startled and alarmed by the shadow of her Son that looks like a crucifixion. But why is the Lord shown as being half dressed in public? And why are thy both barefoot in a workshop full of sharp objects and stone and wood chips? It must have been splinter central.

The ghastly King Herod

Queen Mariamne leaving the court of Herod.

I was thinking about King Herod last night. His life would make an epic movie. While still a teenager he became an effective warrior. He fell in love with and asked for the hand of Princess Mariamne, the daughter of the high priest and a descendant of the last true kings of Israel. In order to marry Mariamne, he cast off his first wife Doris and his three year old son. Caesar, Marc Antony and Octavian were well disposed towards him, the son of their loyal friend and when he had destroyed his enemies once and for all he went to Rome and was made king of the Jews. Palestine was his.

And then he turned into something that the Greek playrights and centuries later, Shakespeare would've understood very well. He became insanely jealous of Mariamne, once, according to Jospehus, even fretting that she was intrested in Marc Antony, who by that time was clearly and totally in love with Cleopatra. His subjects hated him-- a foreigner, an upstart son of a servant to the last true king and they resented his Roman connections. Mariamne had a little brother who naturally had far more claim to the throne than he did and when the boy was 19 or 20, Herod had him killed. Though they loathed Herod, Mariamne and her brother were well thought of by the people and this murder must have horrified them.

I'd love to see a young Sophia Loren playing the part of Mariamne. Imagine what she must have felt. Eventually Herod's jealousy led him to listen to ambitious courtiers who claimed that Mariamne was unfaithful. He put her to death and regretted it immediately afterwards. He had what appears to be something a nervous breakdown and fled to his Summer palace for months. When he returned he went on to kill his mother-in-law, his uncle, three or four of his sons, a brother-in-law and menaced his brother, who died on his own before Herod could kill him. And of course he slaughtered his unhappy subjects at will. It's easy to see why killing 20 or so peasant babes in Bethlehem wouldn't have made him bat an eyelash.

He later married Cleopatra of Jerusalem, Mariamne II, Malthace, Phaidra, Pallas, and Elpis. Were any of them happy even for a day, I wonder? History doesn't tell us. Herod was like the Henry VIII of the ancient world, a promising youth who became an ogre. He attempted to Hellenize Israel, but the common people resisted the gentile influence. He famously rebuilt the temple but his lack of religious faith, or sincerity and the inclusion of Roman Eagles to the temple gates shocked and offended the people. Brave young rabbinical students took those eagles down and paid for it with their lives.

Some scholars believe that Herod died of gangrene or a hell of a case of scabies. Others think it was kidney disease. I wonder if his paranoia and depressive episodes didn't stem from secondary syphilis. His story really is one of the most horrifying of the ancient world.

Fr. Aragorn says Mass --God bless whomever filmed it

I bought a new veil

It's gray and had made by a very nice lady. Check her work out at:

http://joy.niklas.us/

should John Paul II be cannonized?

This dude says no.

I think he's too harsh and is wrong on a couple of points. Meeting with victims would've accomplished nothing except provide a phot op for a Catholic hating media. The Holy Father should no more apologize for the sins of other people than I am for the sins of my cousin who went to jail several years ago for doing something really, really bad.

Plus, some victims claimed abuse decades after the accused priest was dead. I wouldn't trust that. It may sound unkind, but if you have no evidence either biologicalor material, no witnesses, nothing but your word against a dead guy then your story has to be suspect. That's the deal for Joe Blow and it ought to be the deal for Father.

I do believe, however, that JPII made mistakes. I think he was way too soft and was held back by the fear of schism. And then there is the kissing the koran thing--- St. Francis would've died first. However, his personal holiness has never been in question, even by his harshest critics. At any rate the cannonizatin process needs to be slowed down and cool heads need to look into things.

Enfant Terribles of Catholic blogville

There are three male Catholic bloggers; two are big time, one is arriving to that point, who bother me. I don't read them anymore but I've wondered why they annoy me. Then it came to me. All three remind me of Truman Capote, who was a little monster.

Before anyone get's the wrong idea, I'm not talking their sex lives. I mean that Capote was smart, maybe a genius, and talented but he was horribly spoiled. He was the little prince, the complete center of attention in his circle and when he wasn't, he got spiteful.

He wrote a vicious roman a clef about his friends in his latter years as a payback for some slight, real or imagined and apparently hinted that he wrote To Kill a Mockingbird for his childhood friend, Harper Lee. You either worshipped Capote and agreed with everything he said or you were an idiot, low class, nasty and deserving of scorn.

Like Capote, these three male bloggers talk a good tough game but seem thin skinned when readers don't stick to their script. Commenters better stick to "Gee, you're so smart. Those traditionalists are so dumb. You're so brave. (Brave? Really?) Your book changed my life. All the good Catholics are with you...." or they get banned or mocked.

There is something so small and precious and enfant terrible about all three of these fellows. I get the impression that all of them spent a lot of time on their mama's laps while being told how aborable and brilliant they were and very little time hanging around other guys. It's interesting in a virus under the microscope sort of way but for the life of me, I can't understand how these guys got to be so important in the world of professional Catholics and why so many people take them seriously.

And there's one more thing. When I see a lay person (this may or may not apply to one or more of the bloggers I'm talking about) who makes their living off of the Church I get nervous. My gut reaction is "Hey bud, who the heck are you? By what authority do you teach? What seminary did you go to and what bishop laid his hands on you? Who gave your book a public imprimatur? What reputable clergyman back up your teaching?

Tis a puzzlement as the King of Siam once said.

The First Catholics in Virginia Monument

This crucifix was erected in 1930 by the Catholic Woman's Club of Richmond, in honor of the first Catholic settlement in Virginia in 1650.
Rocky and I try to stop and say a prayer there everytime we go through Aquia, Virginia.

thank you, Congressman Cao

The Honorable gentleman from Louisiana is not going to vote for the Obama throw-granny-from-the-train bill. God bless you, sir.

insignificant details

Back in the 80s young Tom Cruise made an appalling movie called Legend. Tim Curry was a demon named Darkness who wanted to kill all the unicorns for some reason and marry the fairy princess. I can only remember two things about the movie; how incredbly cheap looking and corny it was and these lines that were like diamonds glittering in a mud hole:

Blix: "Its just a female lord, she has no power."
Darkness: "Only the power of creation!"

The power of creation, the power to be a mother. The devil hates that and hates womankind. On Lair of the Catholic Cavemen there is a powerful post about a nun, Sr. Simone, who doesn't wear a habit, doesn't teach, doesn't nurse, doesn't spend her days in contemplative prayer who thinks that people are opposing Obama's healthcare disaster in the making because of insignificant details. I don't know what order this nun belongs to but I hope it dies out soon.

Blogger, Vir Speluncae Catholicus has a unflincing photo of one of those "insignificant details," an aborted baby. I gasped at that photo and wondered how in the hell this happens. How does a "normal" person do abortions day in and day out? If I did an animal like that I'd be a sick freak and at the very least my neighbors would avoid me. If I did an adult like that I'd end up in prison. But subjecting a pre-born baby to such cruelty is legal and hip and all the cool kids smile scornfully at you if you object to it. And then I remembered, Hell of course. The devil hates babies almost as much as he hates woman. He whispers in our ears. He tells us that if we are to be free we must be tough, we must be cold, we must imitate the worst aspects of male behavior and we must deny, delay or destroy that power of creation thing. We must out Medea, Medea, we have ignore those insignificant little details.

St Joseph, pray for us

I've never seen an image of St. Joseph and young Jesus that I really liked. This one by artist, John Collier is the best I've ever seen.

Shrine of the Infant of Prauge, Wakefield Virginia

Rocky and I had a wonderful vacation. We spent hours at the Virginia Living Museum, went to the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, the Naval Museum in Norfolk, toured Bacon's Castle in Surry, visited both Ft. Boykin and Ft. Huger and hung around Jamestown. Rocky got a good look at the ghost fleet from Ft. Huger and in Newport News we got a good look at a carrier that was being serviced at the shipyard. We lolled about on the boardwalk at Virginia beach and were delighted at how cool the temps were on the ocean.

We went to the Infant of Prague shrine in Wakefield, which is pretty close to where we stayed (Foursquare Bed & Breakfast, Smithfield, VA). The shrine is a little wooden church with a magnificent tabernacle and a beautiful statue of the Infant. Mass was wonderful. The locals are used to tourists and are genuinely nice people. We felt welcomed. People smiled and said hello. When the sign of peace came we got genuine handshakes, not the Northern Virginia cold jellyfish shake--- I hate the sign of peace but at the shrine is was okay. After Mass we chatted with the priest. He went to the seminary with our Bishop Loverde. The Catholic world is vast but very small too. If you're in the Tidewater area try to get over to the shrine. They only have one Mass there in the Summer, the 5 PM vigil.

Later in the week we went to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk. It's a historic Virginia landmark, and is Virginia's only basilica. Again, everyone greeted us kindly and I sang songs during Mass that I haven't heard since I was a child at St. Augustine's in DC.

Finally, I learned a good lesson abut traveling with a diabetic. Don't wait until they say they're hungry. At noon or at least one start looking around a for restaraunt or they'll feel sick.

vacation --

i have no idea what i did with my swimsuit last summer but me, Rocky and my mama are heading out to my favorite place in the world the Tidewater of Virginia.

In your charity, please pray for our dear Fr. Theoden

"Forth! Down fear of darkness! Arise! Arise, Riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day... a red day... and the sun rises! Ride now... Ride now... Ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending! Death!"

Mary Jo Kopechne died 40 years ago today

When Teddy Kennedy dies he'll probably be surrounded by family and friends. A priest, if not the cardinal will come to his bedside and give him Last Rites. Someone will croon French, (Rose Kennedy spoke fluent French and so did her son, JFK) or perhaps even Gaelic to him as he slips away. Later thousands will view the body in both Boston and DC and despite Church rules there will be eulogy after eulogy at the funeral. If the family asks for it, Danny Boy will be sung and the cardinal, his favorite priest and the Papal Nuncio will probably be co-celebrants. It will be one heck of a send off.

When I was a child Teddy ran a half hearted campaign for president. My father, a devoted Democrat said he'd vote for him but he'd never win. "Why", I asked. " A place called Chapaquidick," my father explained. A girl was killed accidentally in a car Ted was driving and although he'd always be king in Massachusetts, a dead girl was just too much for the rest of the country. My father said no more about the matter and I went back to playing with my Barbies.

When Teddy passes beyond the veil anyone who mentions Mary Jo's name will be sneered at as a meanie so I'll say it now and I'll say how sad it was that no-one was there to give the poor silly miss Last Rites or to hold her in their arms as she slipped away and no cardinal held her mother and father's hands at her funeral.

God bless you, Holy Father

Dear

Lord, keep Thy servant, Benedict close to you

as he carries his own cross.

Amen

Some times I wonder

what has gotten into our bishops. They say we should welcome illegal immigrants with open arms because they are fellow Catholics and their faith is so much more strong and vibrant that ours. Because we Americans practice contraception we will be, the narrative goes, die out and the American church will joyously become Latinized as in Latin America. We should, we are told, embrace this and get with the program. The Whispers in the Loggia blog harps on this theme all the time.

Now, there is cause for concern about catechesis in America. Most Catholics don't seem to know or care about what the Church teaches. Many Catholics don't even go to Mass anymore except for Christmas, Easter and Ash Wenesday. But importing Latin American will not fill the pews or fix the problem. Do the bishops not read the newspaper or visit their own parishes? Gautemala, which like most of Latin America was once solidly Catholic; now it's half Catholic and half Evangelical. In Mexico, drug cartels have openly threatened priests and recently a priest and two seminarians were murdered there. All is not well.

The Charismatic movement seems to have gotten a toe hold in the Spanish speaking community here in Virginia and that is worrisome. Writhing on the floor to rock music doesn't have much to do with the faith of St. Juan Diego, St. Rose of Lima or the Holy Father. I know of a number of priests who find themselves in a dilemma. If they curb some excesses (I can't go into detail here because I don't want to get anyone in trouble) they'll be called a racist so they turn a blind eye and tell their American parishioners to hush the grumbling or to be patient.

Do the bishops not open their eyes when they travel? Little store front Spanish speaking only Protestant churches are everywhere. Not everyone from Latin America is a devout Catholic. That's a stereotype, baby. So far, I've seen two botanica (voodoo) shops in Alexandria and Arlington. The bishops are highly educated men, surely they know all this so why the constant happy talk?

Sure, welcome the legal immigrant who has skills that we can use and encourage him mightily. Welcome the legal immigrant to church and don't let him slip/or force him into a liturgical ghetto either. I realize how the liturgical ghetto thing happend. Catholics in Northern Virginia are not that friendly, period. If people are staring at Rocky and I when we show up for Mass what must it be like for someone from a different country?

But the current approach the bishops have taken isn't working and you don't need a degree in Theology to see it. The oxygen in the ivory tower must be too thin.

For the King of Friday

Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver, *
Jesus, prostrate on the ground in prayer,
Jesus, strengthened by an angel,
Jesus, in Thine agony bathed in a bloody sweat,
Jesus, betrayed by Judas with a kiss,
Jesus, bound by the soldiers,
Jesus, forsaken by Thy disciples,
Jesus, brought before Annas and Caiphas,
Jesus, struck in the face by a servant,
Jesus, accused by false witnesses,
Jesus, declared guilty of death,
Jesus, spat upon,
Jesus, blindfolded,
Jesus, smitten on the cheek,
Jesus, thrice denied by Peter,
Jesus, despised and mocked by Herod,
Jesus, clothed in a white garment,
Jesus, rejected for Barabbas,
Jesus, torn with scourges,
Jesus, bruised for our sins,
Jesus, esteemed a leper,
Jesus, covered with a purple robe,
Jesus, crowned with thorns,
Jesus, struck with a reed upon the Head,
Jesus, demanded for crucifixion by the Jews,
Jesus, condemned to an ignominious death,
Jesus, given up to the will of Thine enemies,
Jesus, loaded with the heavy weight of the Cross,
Jesus, led like a sheep to the slaughter,
Jesus, stripped of Thy garments,
Jesus, reviled by the malefactors,
Jesus, promising Paradise to the penitent thief,
Jesus, commending St. John to Thy Mother as her son,
Jesus, declaring Thyself forsaken by Thy Father, Jesus, in Thy thirst given gall and vinegar to drink,
Jesus, testifying that all things written concerning Thee were accomplished,
Jesus, commending Thy spirit into the hands of Thy Father,
Jesus, obedient even to the death of the cross,
Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Jesus, made a propitiation for us,
Jesus, taken down from the cross,
Jesus, laid in the sepulcher,
Have mercy on us.

i noticed an odd thing this week

Many Catholic bloggers weighed in on Michael Jackson's death, to plop loose green shit on his corpse mostly but very few bloggers had anything to say about the Caritas scandal in Boston. Perhaps it's because taking a shot at Jackson was easy and seeming to pick on good ole Cardinal Sean seemed hard. But the Caritas scandal was not about picking on Cardinal Sean.

The cardinal, in order to keep his health care operation going was apparently going to accept the state's requirement that abortion services be provided to patients who requested them, even if it was "just" referring them to abortionists off site.

The entity that was going to handle this was CeltiCare. 49% of CeltiCare was owned by Caritas. Although the archdiocese denied it repeatedly, Caritas was essentially going to be involved in the abortion business.

Let that roll around in your head for a minute. Let it boggle your noggin. Now think about the early martyrs who died horribly rather than offer incense to Caesar. Think about Sts. Agatha, Lucy, Anastasia, Perpetua and Felicity. Think about the martyrs whose names are now known only to God who were told, "Look, you are young and handsome. Why give your life over a technicality? Just whisper to me that Caesar is lord and I'll let you go. Cooperate with the system and you will live." The Caritas deal was an insult to the memory of the martyrs. It was an insult to every pro life worker in Boston. It was an insult to every slaughtered in the womb, baby.

Well now, the deal is off. A few bloggers have mentioned the story in the last two days to congratulate the cardinal on doing the right thing but they fail to mention that it was a bunch of inelegant, unsophisticated Joe and Jane in the back pew lay people who kept asking annoying questions and kept publicizing the story who are to be congratulated. They are the reason Caritas won't be involved in abortions, not the cardinal. I say this, not to pick on the cardinal but to give credit where it is due. Jane and Joe in the back pew, you rock. If I drank beer, I'd raise a Dos Equs in your honor.

Now every blogger writes about what means the most to them. That's the beauty of the blog. Sometimes you get stories about the blogger's cat and sometimes you get stories about Catholics in Siberia. It just struck me as weird that the big time professional, serious issue, serious Catholic bloggers took time to mock Jackson, which should've been beneath them (see footnote) and had nothing to say about a stunning Catholic scandal, that could've had national implications because if Caritas had gotten away with this don't think it couldn't happen in your diocese.

And the most puzzling comments came from ultra serious people who claim to know nothing about pop music or the national zeitgeist. You know, the folks who swear they haven't' watched TV or seen a movie in years, sew their own deliberately ugly dresses, and who grow heirloom tomatoes and for fun reenact the Battle of Hastings in the back yard with their perfectly perfect kids. And speaking of the kids, each one was conceived after grimly praying Tobit's prayer, consulting the chart and stoicly going into the marital embrace.

To each his own but for someone like that to talk about pop music is kind of like an Old Order Mennonite telling young Elvis how to shake a leg or a Mormon telling Sonny Boy Williamson how to play the harmonica. All in all, I would've preferred to have read about their cat, Benedictus.


Foot note
(I once was in a car pool with a Jehovah's Witness. She was a bore but no hypocrite. When she turned on the car radio and heard Boys to Men singing a sweet love song she cried out, "The devil's music!," turned off the radio. She neither knew nor gave a damn who was on the music Top 40 list. Ole Bessie said pop music was beneath her and refused to talk about it. Anyone fool enough to mention Prince, Cameo or even Earth Wind and Fire to her would've gotten a basilisk stare and an offer to conduct a Bible study. As I said, ole Bessie was a crashing bore but she walked her talk)

Hideous Mass

I just watched an incredibly hideous Mass on EWTN. It took place at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Melrose Park, IL. I was astonished at the ugliness of the church and the poor dress of the people. Every other woman was wearing the fat lady's cop out outfit: big flowered, sleeveless blouses and polyester shorts or shapeless skirt. The men, even the skinny guys had the fat guy's cop out outfit: the Hawaian or bowling shirt over sweat pants or the sansabelt pants. The poor Knights of Columbus who were present looked like they were doing a penance.

The music was appalling. At one point a man and woman got up and sang "The Prayer", a sticky sweet pop song by Josh Groban. Ewwww! Judging by the sour expressions on the faces of the people in the pews when the camera panned over them, a lot of people didn't like it. At one point the priest was providing commentary jokingly asked how long this was going to go on. The Mass was poorly filmed--- but I'll give them a break on this, maybe they are not used to broadcasting. This was all to dedicate a new statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. The statue is gorgeous but looks strange in such an ugly, stuck in the 1970s place.

Yip, yip, yip! I gotta an award.

The rules are to say thanks to the presenter. That's easy.

Thanks Joe! I hope you find the right seminary.

Second, I have to say ten honest things about myself. Hmmm.

1. I don't give a damn about the Iranians. The lesser of two evils, (the Mousavi (sp.) guy was involved in the Lebanon bombing that killed over 200 of our Marines)) is still evil. If they are fighting each other hopefully they'll be too busy to use their nukes on Israel. The protestors may wear jeans but I'll bet you they'd spit on Jewish Levi Strauss if he came back to life and were to walk into one of their mosques.
2. I loathe feminists.
3. Unless there is no other Mass to go to within a 20 mile radius, if the cantor whips out a guitar and/drums I'm out of there.
4. I think George Lucas completely botched Padme's death and her relationship with Anakin in Revenge of the Sith.
5. Otis Redding makes me cry.
6. I want a basso profundo to sing Dies Irae at my funeral.
7. I don't like holding newborn babies. When they can hold their own heads up it's fine but I worry that I'm doing it wrong with the brand new ones.
8. I love the smell of a river or creek.
9. One of the happiest days of my life was when Rocky and I walked the sky trail to Belle Island in Richmond, VA.
10. I love Bear Grylls. I could adopt him.
11. Bonus. I really wish the Anchoress hadn't moved her blog to First Things.

1. I pass this on to everyone who's in my links list.

Why Jesus did not establish a female priesthood...

Have you ever noticed that women preachers never talk about humility, service or obedience? They are however, very big on feelings, power, expressing themselves, rights, and "dignity".

An Episcopalian (Church of Anything Goes) priestess has publicly claimed that God rejoices in abortion.

Somewhere in a fetid corner of hell, Queens Jezebel and Athaliah are nodding in recognition of a sister in spirit.

It's a strange feeling when a piece of your childhood dies

Fr. Aragorn

Father Aragorn, our old parochial vicar will be saying a Solemn High Mass at Our Lady of Hope
in Potomac Falls, Virginia on July 1 at 7PM. I'm temted to go but the last time I visited OLoH I was not comfortable--- the church is gorgeous, the priest is very good but the people are coldfish, rich Northern Virginians with all that entails and I'm not sure I want to put up with that again. Potomac Falls is one of those stuffy, artificial places that I loathe. No history, no real center, just a bunch of mini mansions squating on the manicured hills.

On the other hand, it would be lovely to be at a Solemn High Mass and Fr. Aragorn's Latin is exquisite.

St. Vincent DePaul, Baltimore

Rocky and I spent a day in Baltimore and visited St. Leo's in Little Italy and thanks to the kind church housekeeper we took a quick tour of St. Vincent DePaul. St. Vincent is the oldest continuously used parish in the Baltimore diocese.

It is surrounded by hard core beggars, but don't let that frighten you. Nobody bothered us and two of them politely told us to go to the side door to gain entrance. They did not ask us for money. The church is beautiful. It's Federal style, all white wash, marble and light coming in from delicately colored stained glass. They are the only church in the diocese that has a 12:15 AM Mass. Boy would I have loved that back when I was single. My date and I could've gone out, had dinner, done our hour of fasting and still made Mass and slept in the next day.

Father's Day

Father's Day is always bittersweet for me. I think of my own dad and I miss him. I think of Rocky never getting a hug from a grimy little boy of his own and I feel terrible for that. But then, I think of God, our Father and I think of all His son's, our priests. On this day and every day in this Year of Priests, thank your Father.

Fr. Cutie

Fr. Cutie "married" his girlfriend this week. The celebrant was a judge.

Clever. Wickedly clever.

The fact that it was a judge officiating and that no attempt to pretend that the marriage is sacramental will come in handy later if he changes his mind. As I said before, I wouldn't want to be in Mrs. Cutie's shoes.

Run like hell....

....If your pastor stands up in the pulpit and says "We need a new Pentecost."
or "Vatican II unleashed a new Pentecost for the Church".

If Wanda Sue, the daughter of the church secretary suddenly appears in a leotard and begins leaping and twirling up the the center aisle. If it's a flesh colored leotard, run screaming.

If your pastor refuses to speak about abortion because he doesn't want to offend the openly and loudly pro abortion but quite wealthy parishioner who is paying for the church's new roof.

If the deacon stands up and does a Jay Leno imitation instead of giving a homily.

If your priest tells you in Confession that IVF is okay.

If you go to a parishioner party and see your pastor sitting in a hot tub with a woman-- oh hell, if you go to a church function and see Father sitting in a hot tub, period. And doesn't matter if he's wearing rash guards or Speedos.

If a lady in a polyester pantsuit-- the Mother Superior of an order than used to exist in your parish and who is visiting her old stomping grounds--- gives the homily.

If a priest tells you not to kneel at Mass-- ever.

Strange days in Boston

It looks like the Boston archdiocese is going to be involved in the abortion business. http://votingcatholicin2008.blogspot.com/

This must be a kick in the gut to every man and woman who's ever prayed in front a Boston area abortion clinic and to everyone who works in a crisis pregnanc cener. They must feel so betrayed.

I am reminded of Our Lady's words in Akita:

"The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres (other priests). Churches and altars will be sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord."
"The demon will be especially implacable against the souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them."

i found this disturbing

....If a man really thought that marriage meant half a dozen children or more, if he really thought that his wife wouldn't be able to work because she was pregnant every two years. If he really thought marriage meant supporting a dozen kids then maybe celibacy wouldn't seem so bad.


I read this on the Standing on My Head blog (don't think I'm going back either) and although I'm not entirely sure of why it did so, it really disturbed me. American Catholics from the Baby Boomers onward have been having sex with the mindlessness of animals but seem terrified of actually having a baby, the whole point of mating in the first place.

It seems so strange. Now granted, with my fertility issues I'm probably not the one to comment on this since I've not been able to carry a pregnancy past two months. Rocky doesn't need to "worry" about having a dozen kids out of me but when we married we did so assuming that kids would come along because that's the deal with with marriage.

Oh, and just becuase you have a bunch of kids doesn't mean that a woman can't work outside the home. My great grandmother had twelve and she was picking cotton in the South Carolina sun, cooking on a wood stove, raising chickens, goats, pigs, keeping a cow and sewing quilts for tourists in her spare time-- a hell of a tougher job than sitting in a nice air conditioned office all day.

What's up with that?

Why do so many Catholics go on and on about Francis Shaefer? He was some kind of Protestant.

Why is Cardinal Law safe in Rome instead facing his former flock in Boston?

Why do Catholics love Flannery O'Conner so much? Her stuff gave me nightmares as a kid.

Why do so many people who clearly don't love the Faith get themselves ordained or professed as nuns?

What is about working for one's parish that seems to turn so many middle aged women into power tripping hapries?

more important than Tiller

Pray the rosary. I have a feeling that things are going to get very greasy in the next few months. Pro-lifers may be harrassed and insulted but babies are going to die.

Pass me not, Oh Gentle Savior

Fr. Cutie

I once saw Fr. Cutie in person. It was after the Papal Mass in DC. Rocky and I were still in the stadium and walked right past him. I think he was doing a commentary on the Mass for a Spanish language channel. He is a good looking man---- movie star pretty and has JFKesquse charisma. His followers (that's a problem right there-- a priest shouldn't have followers) were mostly women, since it's chicks who babble on about love and marriage. Guys don't.
Surely someone in the diocese should've had enough sense to see that a mess could happen. If he had time to carry on a dalliance then he obviously had no oversight and had too much unaccounted for time surrounded by dreamy women with heaving bosoms and slobbery emotions.

Anyway, he and his woman have abandoned the Church for Episcopalianism, a religion that was started becuase Henry VIII was a heartless swine and Anne Boleyn was an ambitious woman. I wouldn't want to be the future Mrs. Cutie. There's a mark on her back. Every woman who's every looked too long at Fr. Cutie before thinks that she has a shot at him now. All is fair in love and war and sisterhood is crap, especially when a man is on the line. Afterall, if he could not be faithful to his vows to God and the Church why should anyone expect him to be faithful to one woman?

It's all too bad and too sad.

Christopher West

I read that Christohper West has suggested that married couples bless their genitals before doing the deed. Some fans of his on other blogs defended this and said they do just that. I began snickering then outright laughing because the genital blessing ritual reminded me of the this adults only, NSFW scene from of the most oddly revolting and stupid movies ever made by a great director, Eyes Wide Shut.

why do catholics so often bayonet their own troops?

Dawn Eden echoed this question which was originally posed by Mark Shea. My first impulse when I read it was to ask, "What do you mean our troops?" If a professional Catholic who presumes to speak for the Church spouts garbage, blasphemy, or acts a fool in public what's so bad about calling him or her on it?