To comfort the afflicted

Take what happened to Bishop Finn as a learning experience.

• I have read several commentaries on the resignation of Bishop Finn and see that a lot of people are very sore.  Look, let's not sugar coat this.  Bishop Finn waited six months to call the cops on a suspected pedophile. A doctor, a nurse or a teacher (which is ironic because of all the perverted teachers) can lose their job for not reporting suspected abuse. In order for me to volunteer to set up tables and inflate balloons for the parish kid's Summer camp I would have to go to the police station and get finger printed and take VIRTUS training. The bottom line is this: due to the unchecked sins of certain priests and the resulting media frenzy, no churchman can afford to hesitate if he thinks or has been told that there is a problem in a parish. Discreet inquiries and private investigations  don't cut it anymore, especially because in the past they usually led to a priest being reassigned to... another parish. The civil authorities have to be called immediately. Anything else is nothing more than a gift shovel to the Church's enemies which they will cheerfully use to bash us with.
  The great tragedy of Bishop Finn is that he is by many local accounts, a good man who showed one lapse of judgement. The new bishop will probably be a liberal and all the good that Bishop Finn did in cleaning up a bad diocese will go for naught. Some people are worried about what will happen to the Benedictine Sisters. Will a new bishop treat them decently or will they have to move again? Rorate Caeli says that something isn't right when Bishop Robert Finn has to go but Bishop Juan Barros is apparently the Pope's favored man. Well yes, something IS NOT right in the universal Church but we can't ignore the fact that Bishop Finn blundered. If you would fight the forces of darkness you must be like the apostles after Pentecost. You must be above reproach in your personal life and you must demonstrate wisdom, as well as all the other virtues.
• I had planned to go to Baltimore next week to visit the shrines and cathedral but in light of the recent rent a riot we'll pass.
• A good  man was railing against cell phones a few days ago. He said they are an avenue for pornography viewing.  I like him and didn't have to the heart to write back what I really thought, especially since I was reading his comments on my phone. Bless his heart, but it's not the phone, it's the person. In the old days you had to subscribe to smut via the mail or go to the dirty book store. Today you can read erotica on your desktop, phone, tablet or Kindle and sigh after some fake dream man while looking at your poor husband. The sin is still yours no matter the medium of delivery.

Leave her to Heaven....

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious will die out. What devout young woman in her right mind would give her life to this? 

Mass Without Pews... wartime

Give thanks for the good

A lot of bad things are happening in the Church today.  There are people in the highest level of our Church who want to destroy the Faith. I don't know if they are honest enough to say this to themselves and I don't really care. By their actions they are destroyers and they can't be content until the rest of us bow our heads and silently go along with them. So, let us be thankful and supportive of every priest and religious that we meet who manages to continue doing what the Church has always told them to do.

Christ among the ruins

This drawing shows a scene in Italy during WWII but looking at it I was reminded of the situation in our Church and our country. Pat Archbold at Creative Minority is one of the very few who plainly says America is doomed. I happen to think he's right. If you look at things clearly it's obvious that our country is like a fresh zombie. It looks okay until you get too close and get a good look and it hasn't started to stink too badly yet. I think we've reached the mokita stage in America. A lot of us feel that something is wrong but we say nothing for fear of social ostracism. Laugh at the preppers if you want, (until a hurricane hits and you find yourself stuck in your apartment with no food, no elevator, 20 flights of stairs and  having to relieve  yourself in the hallways because the plumbing and electricity is out like New Yorkers did after Super-storm Sandy) but although they mostly seem to be expecting the wrong outcome, they know something is up. My local and state government has advertising on buses urging people to take note of where the local emergency shelters are and get first aid training-- sensible things but do you recall ever seeing something like this when you were a kid?

The financial house of cards is looking pretty shaky and I doubt that the results of the presidential election will change a thing. If you owe a hundred dollars and only have thirty, you have a problem. That's the situation for our country on a mind boggling scale. And have you noticed that every week the media gives us some new shiny object for us to be mesmerized by? Too many people are distracted by Bruce Jenner or ogling some strumpet's nakedness on Instagram or babbling about the latest fake rape story at a  prominent college and are missing the important stuff. But look, Christ is there. In the midst of the ruins, Christ is there. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio won't save us and Hilary is no prize pony either. Only Christ, and only a massive wave of reparation to Him is the answer.

A vow

In this painting a mother has come with her child and makes a vow to Our Lady in thanks for the child's recovery from some illness.

How can you refuse Him Now?

How can you refuse Him now, how can you refuse Him now

How can you turn away from His side

With tears in His eyes, on the cross there He died

How can you refuse Jesus now....  

Help a Knight out and some random thoughts

• The Knights of Columbus Virginia convention is coming up soon. I imagine there will be some discussion about the Norfolk Knights. Because St. Patrick's Day fell within the full 60 days the KofC bylaws require for a motion to be made no official decision will occur. I read on the Les Femmes blog that one good man, a Knight from Virginia Beach has drawn up a petition asking that the Norfolk Knights of Columbus Council #3548 be disbanded due to their disobedience and lack of helpfulness to their pastor. As I said before, because of the 60 day rule, no official punishment to the Norfolk Knights is likely to happen, however if this petition really gathers steam it will help somewhere down the road. Who knows it might even move the State Council to bend the 60 day rule and make a ruling during the convention.
  
  Fr. McGivney, pray for us.

• Patricia Januzzi has been reinstated at her job thanks to the Lepanto Institute and bloggers all around the USA and Canada who shone the harsh light of truth on an ugly, unjust situation. God bless everyone who helped Mrs. Januzzi but please, nobody get complacent. As Nikita Khrushchev is supposed to have said "Let your bayonet thrust. If it strikes fat, destroy. If it strikes steel, withdraw." The evil people who tried to destroy Mrs. Januzzi, are still thrusting their bayonets. Tomorrow it will be another teacher, or a nice little woman who sells wedding cakes from her home kitchen, or it will be ...you or me when we are told that it would be bad for our careers not to attend a certain wedding. The next time that bayonet thrusts, please God, that it strikes someone of steel.
  
• Fr. Z. says there will be no schism after the October synod and seems to indicate that he doesn' want to hear anymore about the matter. Steve Skokec begs to differ.   Is there going to be an official schism? Maybe, but what of it? We already have a state of undeclared schism right now. In my diocese and yours you can go to certain parishes where the priest either preaches heresy or comes damn close to it... and nothing is done about it. We have parishes where the nuns are teaching Tai Chi and yoga. At the Sisters of Bon Secours Retreat House  in Baltimore, website I could not find the name of Jesus on the first page or the second page I went to. Eventually, I had to use the site's search feature. The New Age vibe is so strong it should be obvious to anyone that this is not a normal Catholic place....but nothing is done about it. In my diocese, there is a parish that was featured in the diocesan newspaper showing its dancing girls leaping about and the pastor criticized Catholics who stay in their pews--praying--instead of jumping and hip thrusting.... and nothing will be done about it.  We have parishes where you need to walk and walk down halls, and stairs to find Our Lord in the tabernacle. We have parishes where it's obvious the priest behaves more like a high strung young girl than a man.... and that's okay. We have parishes where they have pillows and blankets for the charismatics who faint to the ground during Mass and healing services.... and that's not just okay, it's praised. We have parishes where no-one under the age of 45 has ever seen a real nun or a monk.  We have motivational speakers  and other loud laymen being treated as Catholic authorities and women's conferences that seem to be all about vanity and making oneself feel better and....nothing is done about it. Frankly, an official schism might be preferable to the soft schism we have now. At least it would be honest.
  
  
• Maureen Mullarkey writes a lovely essay on how a Jewish jeweler refused to sell her and her then, fiance a  wedding ring with a particular quote from the Book of Ruth because they were not Jewish. She did not raise a stink or attempt to ruin the business of an elderly survivor of a Nazi concentration camp. She bought the ring and used another quote. Imagine that. 

When you find a good priest, give thanks for him.

This beautiful art work shows an Italian monk helping a tired pilgrim on her way to a shrine by carrying her luggage, her fat baby and by giving her a shoulder to lean on. Say a prayer for any good priest who has helped you in your life.

How was your Triduum?

On Holy Thursday, Rocky and I went to our parish and he ushered.  Fr. Sharp is not an orator but what he says is like gold nuggets for your soul if you listen. Looking at him is like seeing a geyser that is about to go off. He's so full of the Holy Spirit and has such piety it's almost too much for a body to contain.

After Mass the Blessed Sacrament was taken in a procession to the altar of repose and the altar boys stripped the altar and left the tabernacle open. Rocky and I try to visit different churches to pray before their repose altars but both of us were beat and so we just visited two, Our Lady of Vietnam in Arlington and St. James in Falls Church.

For Good Friday we went to Old St. John's in Silver Spring. It's an old and quite lovely little church. The celebrant was a young priest from Kentucky. In the evening we picked up my mother and we all went to the burial of Christ at the Franciscan Monastery in DC. We've been going for 20 years. The brothers tweak and edit the order of the service every year and so there are slight differences each time one attends. It's an intense experience and we look forward to it every year.

We went back to the Monastery for Easter Vigil. It was sublime and it's always thrilling to see people from all over the world at Mass. We had to move because the couple next to us brought their little daughter who was restless and fussy and wandering around while waving a lit candle. People discreetly shifted in their seats and gave her a wide berth. She stumbled into some chairs and came too close to Rocky's ear and that was enough for him. We left the area and sat on two folding chairs next to a back staircase.  Immediately after we sat down the couple came down the stairs and left.  I hope we didn't offend them by moving but it beat going to the ER.  After Mass we went home and went to bed.
For Easter dinner we laughed, told stories, and ate veal with squash and duck with orange sauce. A happy Eastertide to everyone.

King of Kings, He is risen!

Holy Saturday-- Stava Maria

Pieta

Good Friday

My God! My God, forgive me. My sins have done this to Thee.

Good Friday----The reproaches

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!

I led you out of Egypt, from slavery to freedom, but you led your Saviour to the cross.

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!

For forty years I led you safely through the desert. I fed you with manna from heaven, and brought you to a land of plenty; but you led your Saviour to the cross.

What more could I have done for you? I planted you as my fairest vine, but you yielded only bitterness: when I was thirsty you gave me vinegar to drink, and you pierced your Saviour's side with a lance.

I opened the sea before you, but you opened my side with a spear.

I led you on your way in a pillar of cloud, but you led me to Pilate's court.

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!

I bore you up with manna in the desert, but you struck me down and scourged me.

I gave you saving water from the rock, but you gave me gall and vinegar to drink.

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!

I gave you a royal scepter, but you gave me a crown of thorns.

I raised you to the height of majesty, but you have raised me high on a cross.

O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? 

Answer me!

Holy Thursday

Holy Wednesday