What is we just said, "Hush up and deal with it?"

There are some people who are objecting to the new and long overdue translation of the Mass in English. I don't get what their malfunction is. The changes are minor. If visible and invisible as opposed to seen and unseen unhinges you then YOU have a problem not the church. Besides, the Novus Ordo has changed over the years anyway. Tinkering and a myriad of options are built into the system so to speak. The people who were delighted when the Tridentine Mass was wrongly taken away had no problem with change then, so what's the problem now?

Some parishes, including the one I went to as a child, have "praise dancers." Most do not. On weekdays you can have a homily or not. At all times you can have the sign of peace or not. I confess that I'm always happy when the grip and grin sign is skipped. You can have the Confietor or not. You can have a beautiful, reverent Mass like the one on EWTN or my parish or you can have something so wild that band has to bring extra amplifiers and the ushers have to bring blankets and pillows for the ladies (have you noticed that's it's usually women who go in for this crap?), who get "slain in the spirit". The theologians say that both are valid. The NO is like a buffet and the menu can change.

When I was a child people shouted out their petitions for the prayers of the faithful. Now that's done by lectors or altar servers. When I was a child nobody held hands during the Our Father, now depending on your parish, people do. When I was a child we did not have altar girls. Now we do and woe to the person, including the poor priest, who objects to the altar girl's flirting with the boys that are left, flipping their hair or giggling all through Mass.

When I was a child it was expected that the priest would give his homily and get on with Mass. Now, it's not unheard of and apparently okay when priests use props to help with the homily. I read about a priest who brings a puppet with him and he's a big hit with his parishioners. I once knew a priest who cursed from the ambo to get our attention. His homiles were dramatic and fascinating and his occasional use of "damn" and "damnit" was considered hip and if the cardinal had a problem with it, he never said anything publicly.

There is a priest in Brazil whose Masses are like rock concerts and he packs 'em in every Sunday. This priest was praised by John. L. Allen and some folks hope his style of Masses are the future of the Church. I hope not. No matter what the liturgy committee folks at your parish say, the Novus Ordo was designed to move with the local zeitgeist. It does not stand pristine and untouched by the vagaries of fashion and it was never meant to. The people who are getting all pissy about the new improved translation need to grow up. It is not 1972 anymore. Thank God.

What got into St. Thomas More?

Rocky and I were running late and couldn't make it to our parish so we went to the Cathedral of St. Thomas More. Mass was ...nice. Fr. Rippy has really done a fine job.

Rosary Beads USA

I was looking for a new rosary and came across this lady's remarkably beautiful work on the always interesting Man With a Black Hat blog. Mary, the rosary maker is quite talented and I placed an order. I can't wait until it comes in the mail.

Padre Pio used to say, "Bring me my weapon! Bring me my rosary!" In these increasingly fantastical, reality rejecting times

we need to use the weapon against darkness that our Lady gave us. And if you can find one that is gorgeous and well made, all the better.

Carbon fast for Lent?

A priest in England wrote that Catholics need to get out of our churches and evangelize. I thought, yes, Father, but most of us barely know our faith and certainly can't articulate it to anyone else. Instead of sound teaching on saving our souls we get pap like this from our bishops. We asked for bread and got a stone.

Must Jesus bear the cross alone?

The painting is by William Adolph Bourgerou, one of my favorite painters. It's called Compassion but I always think of the old hymn when I see it.

Return from Calvary by Herbert Schmaltz

A couple years ago, Rocky and I were on vacation in Pennsylvania and we stayed at a bed and breakfast that had this huge oil painting on the living room wall. I fell in love with it and took note of the name and painter. One of these days I'm buying a copy.
It shows an exhausted Mary, Sts. John, and Mary Magdalene and the other holy women at dusk after the crucifixion. They have buried Christ and must stop all labor because of the sabbath but nothing can stop their grief. The painter hints at their hopes with the use of light and darkness. Darkness is covering the land but it lifts where Mary stands and just over the three crosses in the background.

Camelot is dead

Patrick Kennedy is not going to run for re-election in Rhode Island. The guys at Creative Minority Report are celebrating.

Mama, what's a neocath?

I've seen the term tossed around but it's kind of like one of those inside baseball things. We are all supposed to know so the person using the term never explains what it is.

King of Kings -- the temptation, the betrayal and Last Supper

Cecil B. DeMille does something odd here. He puts the Temptation, not in the dessert but in the Temple and his version of Palm Sunday is different from the Gospel account. Then he gets to the Last Supper which is beautifully shot. Judas, having betrayed Jesus can't bring himself to eat and drink with the rest of the disciples.

Thank you, St. Jude for prayes answered

There is a couple who wanted to adopt their foster child. Certain folks in the foster system wanted to send the child back to the natural mother, who is apparently "getting her life together". The case dragged on for years but the judge ruled in the foster parent's favor.

Whenever people say "I don't know why So-in-So did a foreign adoption. There are plenty of kids available in foster care," I just sigh. Just because a child is in foster care doesn't mean they are free for adoption. There is a parent or a relative out there who for whatever reason won't let go and the kid can languish from foster home to foster home to group home until they turn 18. And then there's the other thing. Not all foster parents are nice people. Some treat the kids like crap. Adopting an older child from foster care means that you run the risk of unknowingly taking on a child who is severely damgaged. Not everyone has the strength or financial resources to handle that.

When the guy in accounting or the woman from your church choir does a foreign infant adoption give them a break before trotting out the old,"plenty of kids right here," line.

RIP Captain Phil

Captain Phil of the Cornelia Marie died. If you watch Deadliest Catch you know that he was one heck of a character.

No more football---

My Colts lost, and now I have no more football. What shall I do? Oh wait! There's the draft and the NFL combine to look forward to.

Well, here's your problem, Father.

I'm late to the party on this story and talking about our blizzard would be a lot more fun but a sad story is taking place in my diocese. An ex nun, married to an ex priest spoke to the local rag newspaper on women's ordination : she's for it. Her priest asked her to resign from her position as music director. The parish is in upheaval. A number of parishioners seem to love the ex-nun more than Jesus.

I've only been to St. Leo's once and I can't remember if I liked it or not but I am continually horrified at how much power and influence church musicians have. At another local parish several families actually left after the leader of the folk choir got into it with the priest. One elderly couple had been going there for decades but left for the sake of kumbayah music.

Fr. Whitestone has a problem but I suspect that it started when the music director got her job. An ex-nun married to an ex priest--- that sounds like a whole lot of trouble right there.

Mass at St. Anthony's.

Rocky works on Saturday and Sunday so we usually go to the Saturday vigil Mass. Well it snowed so much that we couldn't make it and had to go to the 5:30 Mass at St. Anthony's. When we arrived Rocky noticed that Bishop Loverde's assistant was there.

As it turned out our wee bishop was the main celebrant. Fr. Grinell, the pastor was very subdued which was quite nice and dear Fr. Nicholas, who is Haitian gave the homily.

The choir was dreadful. Over amped music, a cantor wailing into the mike, a guitarist who is NOT the second coming of Jimi Hendrix and tuneless tunes. One thing I found interesting was that nobody was singing alogn with the choir or the psalms. Old, young, black, white, Asian, Indian, Philipino, African... nobody was singing. We all just silently endured the noise.

I was very annoyed by the jolly old man who stood at the ambo before Mass to tell us what the readings were and what they meant (essentially he gave us a mini homily.) He then instructed us to all stand and greet our neighbors. After that business was done the clergy processed in. Despite having a bishop and four priests we still had a small army of eucharistic ministers. Were they really, really needed?

After Mass the rush to get out was like a cattle stampede. People only slowed down to greet the bishop and Fr. Nicholas and getting out of the church parking lot was like Death Race 2000.