Sunday, August 10, 2014

Random thoughts on diocese doings......




* I'm not a big fan of Bishop Loverde but I'm intrigued by an event he is going to attend in September. He's going to be talking about conversion at Hylton Chapel in Woodbrige, Virginia and that's rather mind blowing.  Imagine a hound dog walking up to a coyote den and telling the inhabitants that there's another way to live that doesn't involve eating the farmer's livestock.  Rocky's parents lived in Woodgbridge and we've driven past Hylton many a time. The chapel is Evangelical/Pentecostal/hard core Protestant central.   Anne Barnhardt refers to to places like Hylton as super fun rock band church. TD Jakes,  Kenneth Copeland, and  Rick Warren have all spoken there. You can have your big Protestant of-all-kinds graduation, wedding, a funeral, concert or conference there.  I am amazed they are allowing Catholics on the premises.  Among the other speakers will be the Conversion Diary blogger who is a former atheist and Fr. Longenecker. I think the former atheist will do fine, Taking  Fr. Longenecker's online persona into consideration, I think he'll do well  with the people from the surrounding counties of Fairfax and parts of Stafford but I don't think he'll mesh with the local Woodbridge and Dale City guys. Still, I applaud the effort and I hope it brings some souls to the Faith.




*Rocky and I had a remarkable experience last week. We went to a Tridentine Latin Mass and a Novus Ordo Mass in the same day.  We were struck by how much adlibbing the priest did in the NO Mass even though he was completely reverent and sober in his manner and by how much of the Mass was dominated by the cantor/ lector  who I'm sure is a nice lady but also couldn't help adding her personal touch to the Mass. Even though we attend both forms every week it was really startling seeing both forms in one day.