random thoughts on hysteria, miracles and stuff

*Whenever Americans freak out and say something must be done....things get worse. In the 1970s there was a mass emptying of insane asylums. Nobody seemed to connect this to the homeless media frenzy of the 80s. On Fr Z'S blog he posted a story about a mayor who's threatening a homeless shelter. One commenter wrote in that church's should pitch in and let homeless people sleep there. That's a nice thought but it also leaves the parish open to lawsuits when some woman goes into the church to pray and gets raped or murdered. I've twice had incidents with homeless men in church. The first was in St. Jospeh's on Capital Hill in DC and it  ended well becuase I and the other woman who was also frightned fled in time. The second, which happened in a wealthy suburb turned out okay because a male parish employee yelled at the guy to leave. Most folks have no idea of how dangerous some of the poor souls living on the streets can be until they volunteer to help out at the homeless ministry and have to sign a legal waiver saying the parish is not liable if they get hurt.


*One Spring day when I was 15, I was walking home from school when I realized that I was being hunted. Two guys in a car were driving very slowly down the street and they were looking at me. I remained calm and pretended I didn't see them. I reached into my bottomless pit of a purse and found my keys. I kept walking until I got to the front steps of my apartment building and then used the element of surprise and got a speed boost from my guardian angel. I ran up the steps got the front door open and slammed it behind me. As I pulled the glass and steel door closed I saw that one of the guys in the car had gotten out and was on the steps. He snapped his fingers and probably cursed in frustration then went back to his accomplice. I let myself inside my apartment, dropped my purse and books on the floor and went straight to my mothers room and lay down on her bed until she came home from work. The experience was so shocking that I never said a word about it for 20 years and to this day I've never mentioned it to my mother. I'm 4 foot eleven inches tall. I'm no speedster. I could never have fought my way to safety and it's a miracle I noticed those guys, ran fast enough and had my keys in my hand.  God saved me that day.


*I'm reading Father Luigi Villa's book on Venerable Paul VI. It's not enjoyable at all. The feelings I get while reading it are painful and  I keep walking away from it but I've never had any use for willful ignorance so I'll keep at it.




*I just received this  handmade holy card made by a delightful mother and daughter in Pennslyvania. They have an Etsy shop and the card is just gorgeous. It's on archival, thick, creamy paper and the colors are stunning. The funny thing is that I have a crocheted veil made  that looks just like the one Our Lady is wearing in the picture.