Our Lady, Queen of Heaven

Fr. Andrew Greeley

Fr. Andrew Greeley has died. Was he telling the truth when he wrote the following in his book, "Furthermore! Memories of a Parish Priest,"?

"...But even in Chicago, the ring of predators about whom I wrote in the paperback edition of 'Confessions' remains untouched. There is no evidence against them because no one has complained about them and none of their fellow priests have denounced them. Those who have been removed are for the most part lone offenders who lacked the skill to cover their tracks. The ring is much more clever. Perhaps they always will be. But should they slip, should they get caught, the previous scandals will seem trivial...."

Not funny at all....

Remember that whole Fortnight of Freedom thing? Well guess what?  According to the New York Times newspaper  "The Archdiocese of New York has previously acknowledged that some local Catholic institutions offer health insurance plans that include contraceptive drugs to comply with state law; now, it is also acknowledging that the archdiocese’s own money is used to pay for a union health plan that covers contraception and even abortion for workers at its affiliated nursing homes and clinics."

St. John Fisher, pray for us.

Virgen Blanca

I think this has to be one of my all time favorite statues of Our Lord and Our Lady. I smile everytime I see it.

Virgin and Child

 

When the world seems insane and drunk on filth turn to the All Pure. Reflect on what is beautiful, goodness and of God.

 

Bye bye Boy Scouts

Allowing gay scouts is not enough. The enemies of the Boy Scouts are relentless. They want gay scout masters and eventually that is what they will have.   So, what is a parent to do?  The On My Honor group is working on an alternative. There is a really fantastic group called the Explorers, that deserves attention. There are the Knights of Columbus Squires  the Blue Knights, this group, Fraternus, or if there aren't any near you there is the old fashioned way: do it yourself.

You don't have to Bear Grylls to take your kid to the park. Get sensible shoes, binoculars, read up before you go and stay on the trail. You'll be fine. You can also go to your priest and ask if an announcement can be placed in the parish newsletter about the possibility of starting up a group.

The Trinity

random thoughts

*John Zmirak is funny when he wants to be.


*There are a number of bloggers posting thoughts on American Catholicism and why it's in such a bad state. None of them has quite come out and said it: the Faith that is presented in most parishes today isn't worth dying for and it certainly isn't worth living for. Having handed us nothing, it's not surprising that people wander off for the emotionalism of the 3000 sects of Protestantism, or the laziness of  going to church two or three times a year.
I was a grown woman before I realized that it was a sin to miss Sunday Mass and I went to a good Catholic elementary school. When the old  nuns died and retired the lay teachers and the hip young nuns took over and I spent a lot of time drawing rainbows during religion class. And then there was the religious instruction in high school. Oh boy. I remember poor Brother Ray and Sr. Joanie nd Gracie. They all meant well and tried so hard to be relevant and hip. If the Harlem Shake had existed back then I can imagine they would have tried to do something "cute" like this:





I stopped going to Mass on a weekly basis after Confirmation. So did most of my classmates. I don't recall any adult Catholic telling me that coming to Mass when I felt like it and taking Communion was wrong. Things in the 80s were very nice and non confrontational. Beyond the basic prayers I had to learn my Faith as an adult, on my own by pouring through the lending library of the Catholic Information Center in DC.


*There are people who say that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. We do not.  Please note. This is a very graphic link so do not click if you are sensitive.


*Cardinal Dolan is not coming to the rescue and Cardinal Mahoney isn't going anywhere.

a holy hour prayer

ACT OF REPARATION

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, animated with a desire to repair the outrages unceasingly offered to Thee, we prostrate before Thy throne of mercy, and in the name of all mankind, pledge our love and fidelity to Thee!

The more Thy mysteries are blasphemed, the more firmly we shall believe them, O Sacred Heart of Jesus!

The more impiety endeavors to extinguish our hopes of immortality, the more we shall trust in Thy Heart, sole hope of mankind!

The more hearts resist Thy Divine attractions, the more we shall love Thee, O infinitely amiable Heart of Jesus!

The more unbelief attacks Thy Divinity, the more humbly and profoundly we shall adore It, O Divine Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy holy laws are transgressed and ignored, the more we shall delight to observe them, O most holy Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy Sacraments are despised and abandoned, the more frequently we shall receive them with love and reverence, O most liberal Heart of Jesus!

The more the imitation of Thy virtues is neglected and forgotten, the more we shall endeavor to practice them, O Heart, model of every virtue!

The more the devil labors to destroy souls, the more we shall be inflamed with desire to save them, O Heart of Jesus, zealous Lover of souls!

The more sin and impurity destroy the image of God in man, the more we shall try by purity of life to be a living temple of the Holy Spirit, O Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy Holy Church is despised, the more we shall endeavor to be her faithful children, O Sweet Heart of Jesus!

The more Thy Vicar on earth is persecuted, the more will we honor him as the infallible head of Thy Holy Church, show our fidelity and pray for him, O kingly Heart of Jesus!

O Sacred Heart, through Thy powerful grace, may we become Thy apostles in the midst of a corrupted world, and be Thy crown in the kingdom of Heaven. Amen.

Our Lady of Good Help

The Our Lady of Good Help shrine is  particularly important because it is the only fully approved apparition site in the United States.  So it's a bit sad to see the  new statue that has been installed at the shrine. The artists meant well  but....

 it looks kind of plastic and cheap. The diocese should've gone to the wax museum in Natural Bridge, Virginia or Gettysburg and they would've gotten a much more life-life portrayal.


Here is the old statue

Here is the even older statue that Sr. Adele, who described what she saw when she was visited by Our Lady,  actually liked.

 

Sr. Theresa Margaret, a Carmelite

Ascension Thursday

We had a high solemn 7 PM Mass at St. Rita's with two priests, a third priest in the confessional, a deacon, seminarian, five altar boys, and a guest choir. I was impressed by the size of the crowd and the number of small children. I love a low Mass but at the high Mass you can pick up how to pronounce ecclesiastical Latin fairly easily. Our pastor Fr. Hawk-- we used to have the nickname Fr. Eagle for him but one day it occurred to me that he looks more like a Sharp Sinned Hawk than a Bald Eagle so Fr. Hawk he became--- was the main celebrant  gave one of his usual though provoking homilies.

An Ethiopian Madona

There is a an Ethiopian Orthodox church near me and they have an outdoor shrine with Our Lady. Drive by any time of day or night and you'll see Ethiopians stoppinbg by to say a quick prayer, leave flowers or just pause for a mintue of peace. Their devoion is really impressive.

Gardening Nuns

random thoughts

*Someone ought to tell the DOD  that this is not Christianity's first rodeo.  This trial balloon seems to have been shot down but don't be surprised if it comes up again in a more clever way.

 

 

 *George Neumayr wrote an essay for Crisis Magazine that was scrubbed from the site. It's been republished in a few places including Real Clear Religion. I'm surprised at Crisis.

 

*Thank you, Holy Father. I hope Cardinal O'Brien doens't end up laughing into his sleeve with a luxury retirement but this is a start.

*When we go to my uncle's nursing home on Saturdays instread of our usual Sundays we got to Mass at a nearby church. I wore one of my veils. An old woman said to me, "I haven't seen one of those in years." She hugged me and kissed me.  If you are lady who veils in the presence of the Lord don't be afraid. Some women will be nasty to you, particularly old unhabited nuns and women who are exposing too much flesh because they neurotically think your coverage is a rebuke to them  but other people will be pleased and most people  won't care one way or another.

The newest item of  my veil collection came from Silver Hill Traditions.

 

 

 

* This is a sweet, positive idea.

* Have you ever noticed that those simple living books, and blogs require you to  buy fourteen things to make a quart of washing powder? Let me tell you what real Plain people do. When I'm in Lancaster, I see the Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren ladies goign to Walmart and buying Tide.


*Back in the 90s the sports media was looking for a great white hope. Some player who would the second coming of Larry Bird. It was ridiculous. They overpraised even marginal players to the point where the audience began laughing and it stopped.  The media has been looking for a gay player in the major sports and now they've annointed a scrub who rode the pine in one of the NBA's worst teams as a hero, the new Jackie Robinson. That's pathetic and an insult to Jackie, by the way. He was an awesome player and keeping him out of the league was foolish. After people saw him play they realized that. If you want to see real heroism read about these little nuns.

Nun embroidering