It's a Christmas miracle

Every now and then outrageous and irreverent behavior by a priest during Mass gets smacked down by his bishop. This was one of those precious few times. A priest in the Phillipines forgot the dignity of his office and turned the holy Mass into a show all about him. The videos taken by parishioners went all around the world and I guess it was just too much for the bishop to stomach. Praise God.

In the House of the Virgin

And the Word became flesh... Merry Christmas and may God bless you all.

 The Burning Babe 

As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow,Surpris’d I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow;And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,A pretty Babe all burning bright did in the air appear;Who, scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shedAs though his floods should quench his flames which with his tears were fed.

“Alas!” quoth he, “but newly born, in fiery heats I fry,

Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel my fire but I!

My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,

Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns;

The fuel Justice layeth on, and Mercy blows the coals,

The metal in this furnace wrought are men’s defiled souls,

For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,

      So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood.”

      With this he vanish’d out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,

      And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas day.

by St. Robert Southwell S.J.

Requiem

I've always thought that my husband was wonderful but lately when I look at him I marvel. The man really is a walking miracle. My father-in-law was an extreme narcissist. He was the corpse at every  funeral and the bride at every wedding.  He was the sun and anyone who didn't want to revolve around him forever was in trouble.  He was affectionate with his sons when they were little but changed when they became teenagers. Perhaps it was because he couldn't cope with them growing up. Maybe something bad  happened elsewhere in his life and that is what made him mean. Perhaps he was afraid. As the boys grew, he may have felt like an old lion who had to defend his territory.  We'll never know. At any rate, Rocky made it out of that household being sane, decent and kind. My father-in-law never got over Rocky  leaving home and his "humorous" tongue was so toxic  that the only way for Rocky to deal with him without getting emotionally torn up every time we visited was to severely limit contact and then to only talk about safe things like football.

My mother-in-law simply adored her husband. He could do no wrong. If he said the sky was green. She would agree and get angry at anyone who said otherwise. Now that she is gone, Rocky is left with only his brother and sadly, it is now obvious that while Rocky got away, "Clipper," never really did. When I look at him, it's like seeing a 6 foot tall marionette with no visible strings.


Kyrie Elieson!
Eternal rest grant unto my in-laws Oh Lord. Let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

Very good Christmas advice from a priest

Fr. Peter Carota has very good advice on how a Catholic should celebrate Christmas.

Before Bethlehem

Blessed art thou among women....

Gaudete

Reparation prayer

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

This Little Babe by St. Robert Southwell

This little Babe so few days old,

Is come to rifle Satan’s fold;

All hell doth at his presence quake,

Though he himself for cold do shake;

For in this weak unarmèd wise

The gates of hell he will surprise.

With tears he fights and wins the field,

His naked breast stands for a shield;

His battering shot are babish cries,

His arrows, looks of weeping eyes,

His martial ensigns, Cold and Need, 

And feeble Flesh, his warrior’s steed.

His camp is pitchèd in a stall,

His bulwark but a broken wall;

The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes;

Of shepherds he his muster makes;

And thus, as sure his foe to wound,

The angels’ trumps alarum sound.

My soul, with Christ join thou in fight;

Stick to the tents that he hath pight,

Within his crib is surest ward;

This little babe will be thy guard.

If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy,

Then flit not from this heavenly boy.

St Robert Southwell

A letter from a man I'd never heard of

A year ago I read a letter written by a dying man. He was Mario Palmaro, a Catholic journalist in Rome. He was terribly worried about his children and the silence of the Church in the face of the homosexual lobby. I never forgot what that man wrote.
Eternal rest grant unto him Oh Lord....

At prayer

In your charity, could you pray for a damaged relative of mine?

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked; 

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

'Good-morning,' and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich - yes, richer than a king -

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; 

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head. 

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Last night I found out something horrible. It was something that I had suspected but now I know it for sure. No-one killed themselves  but an image surely died. A relative that we all thought simply golden, the favorite child, the one with the big job, the biggest house, the newest car, the most money and the surgically enhanced wife, the one who had all the world says is good, is actually angry, miserable and has carried a frightening level of resentment for years.  Rocky and I were stunned and when the evening came to a merciful close we were glad to see this person leave our home.  Poor soul. 

Hail, the God bearer

REPARATION PRAYER

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

At prayer

The pope is the vicar of Christ

The pope is God's highest servant. He is the steward. He is the visible head of of the Church but he is not the ultimate head so no, it is not his church to do with as he pleases. Everything he has power over to loose and bind is given to him by Christ and he must answer to the Master one day. The bride belongs to the bridegroom and the bridegroom is Christ.

It is HIS church.

at prayer

This painting of a nun at prayer looks like the Oblate Sisters of Providence habit.

que soy era Immaculada Councepciou

There is going to be a light show projected onto St. Peter's Basilica in support of environmentalism/making everybody but the rich live like livestock in order to "save the planet" on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.  My Jesus, mercy!

Random thoughts

Never forget what Mary's Baby came to do

• Have a blessed Advent!"
• I can't stand poor mouthing.  I come from a family and a culture that drilled it into my head that you did not discuss your money with anybody outside the house. Even if you had to spend the month eating grits with no butter, you got on with it, made sure the rent was paid, looked presentable when you stepped outside  and did not shame your people.  A few weeks ago a blogger mentioned that he went to France and ate something nice at a restaurant. Two readers  wrote in to say passive aggressive things like, "Oh I'd like to eat something besides Cheerios but I have 9 kids and can't do (frivolous, it's implied) stuff like that.  On another blog I read the author's advice on housekeeping. Two people responded with the sugar coated insult along the lines of "Well, I can't do that because my husband and I are real Catholics and have chosen a modest lifestyle instead your (it is hinted) wordly way." Folks, the lady blogger was writing about keeping your house clean and neat.  I see this frequently from commenters and it is not attractive.  How about, "Oh, that's nice," and nothing more or if that's too much, how about no comment at all? Begrudging what other people have and do does not make you and your lifestyle look holy, it just makes you look small, discontent, and leads other people to think, 'Wow, I feel sorry for your family.'
  
  
• My parish, St. Rita's got new hymnals and missals. The old ones from CC Watershed  were beautiful but a  not tough enough to survive my fellow parishioners. The ushers were frequently finding books with the covers and backs torn off after Mass and the arrangement of the missal/hymnal combination just seemed to confuse people. The new books are from Illuminaire. Hopefully they will survive  for a few years.
  
• The Texas nuns make good soap. 
  
• This is a gorgeous blog.
  
• In a parish in North Carolina they had a Rorate Mass. I've never been able to go to one but I mean to.
  
• Disorder in the nation starts with disorder in the home. We obviously have a LOT of work to do.
  
• Rocky is going to be ushering on the early Christmas Vigil. This is typically a suit up and be ready for anything Mass. The ushers face, among other things, visiting horribly spoiled children who are confused and upset because rude behavior that was okay all year long is suddenly not okay. I watched many young parents, sometimes the father, but usually the mother just lose it in the vestibule because they are mortified in front of their  in-laws.  Occasionally it is middle aged parents who snap. It's most often  the father who upon seeing the expressions on the faces of his shocked relatives looks at his daughter's strapless, thigh high dress and gets embarrassed.  The poor kid can't understand what the big deal is because Dad said nothing all the other times she wore the dress. This leads to a scene at home, being late and then going off on the usher when he offers  a fold up chair to sit in the back instead of miraculously finding  spaces together in the front half of the church.  Then there are the C&E Catholics who sometimes come to church with a grudge and get ridiculously upset because the usher refuses to make a 97 year old in walker move down so they and their party of eight can all sit together.
  
  
  
  
  
  

St. John of Damascus-- pray for us!

St. John was Syrian and in his old age he was brought before the ruling Caliph and his hand was cut off. After spending the night in prayer and agony the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and restored his hand. The Caliph was astounded and let St. John return to his monastery where he lived until his death sometime between 749 and 753. His feast day is December 4.

REPARATION PRAYER

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

A prayer for the Holy Father

Dearest Mother, please let the Holy Father take some time off and stop giving interviews on planes.

Amen

random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

Annunciation

• Most of pop culture really is not good for us.
  
  
• I miss my uncle. Both my mother and I  still feel restless and nervous on Sundays because we are so used to going to the nursing home.
  
  
• Wow. The Germans are being nasty again. 
  
• If you claim to be a devout Catholic but  watch Scandal or intend to watch The Night Before then you are part of the problem. That is all.
  
  
• The Shower of Roses blog has delightful ideas for mothers and children projects.
  
  
• Have you ever noticed that the cool kid Catholics always get mean and personally insulting if you disagree with them and if they're really mad they become just as blasphemous as a pagan? And have you noticed how many others go "Oh come on, he/she was only joking, Can't you take a joke?"
  
  
• France and probably Germany are toast and it's' their own fault for  not having enough children to  maintain their countries. I saw a blog that had an editorial cartoon showing the Statue of Liberty grabbing a backpack and crying out, "I'm coming!," as she rushes back to France. Well they can have the statue but I hope that not a single American young man gets sent back to France for a world war rescue mission again.
  
• Going to Mass in Maryland can be iffy. Going to Mass in Baltimore can be like sampling a box of chocolates. Sometimes you get the buttercreme  and sometimes you get a candy coated bug  HT Restore DC Catholicism.
  
  
• My boss retired three months ago and no replacement has been hired. "Agatha" was annoying and could be maddening but that woman did a lot of work and I've called her at home to let her know how much respect I have for her now. 

Reparation prayer

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

a crucifixion painting

About the cardinal's apartment....

Christine Niles of Church Militant says that Cardinal Wuerl, (whom I do not like at all), lives in an apartment in a 43 million dollar complex in one of DCs nicest neighborhoods. Well, yes, but the complex is Our Lady Queen of the Americas,  a Hispanic parish and home to the Senor de los Milagros devotion.  The Washington English Center, which teaches English to immigrants from all of the world, is located on the property as well. The cardinal lives on the top floor. Short of living in one of the black parishes I don't see how much more clever the cardinal could've been. All he has to do is walk through the church cafeteria, show the happy students at the school, or visit the tiny tots in their catechism class with a photographer and he or his surrogates can say, "I live with in the midst of one of the biggest ethnic parishes in DC, and yes, it's in a nice neighborhood. Do you have a problem with Hispanics having a nice parish?" The report hints that the cardinal lives like a king but unless they have photos of of his apartment or testimony from people who have seen it and are willing to give their names, Church Militant just has accusations and loose talk.  Depending on how he wants to play this, Church Militant could end up looking silly. If you would fight an enemy  you need to have a suitable weapon. Instead of a sword this report looks more like a water balloon. Sorry.

The Prince, the Evil Fairy and a magic sword of truth

Saturday with four churches, brisket and a swamp

Rocky was took a rare Saturday off from work so we decided to take a road trip to Southern Maryland. We went to Prince Frederick County, home of the Battle Creek Swamp. If you enjoy birding this is a lovely spot. They have a spy window in the visitor's center that looks out on a huge feeder. You can sit in comfort and get a good look at even the most timid birds because they can't see you. I counted five species that I haven't seen this year.

We went to St. John Vianney Church for their annual Christmas bazaar. It was great. They have serious artisans there with high quality goods. It was worth the trip and I'll go back next year. The church is okay at first glance until you look at the windows. Seeing  Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Merton in stained glass as if they were saints is a head shaker. Next we drove to Immaculate Conception  in Solomons Island and said a decade of the rosary.  We were repulsed by their Resurrection crucifix. Our Lord did not lift off the crucifix like a firecracker. He stayed on His throne of pain until His work was finished and then He commended His soul to God. Our Lord did not have 1980s hair.   We decided that we weren't coming back later for the vigil Mass. After lunch at Mission Barbeque we went over the bridge to St. Mary's County and enjoyed looking at the waterfowl and boats. Evening rolled around and we scouted around  for a place to go to Mass. The clostest chruch to our location was  Our Lady Star of the Sea but  as we were walking up the path a woman came blasting out of the door with a disgusted look on her face. She was a big, sturdily built country lady so we stepped aside and watched her head to her car.  Once inside we looked around.  listened to the choir and got an idea why the lady fled. Bless their hearts, I'm sure they were sincere but it was like being sucked back into 1974. I checked my phone and saw that St. Cecilia's had a 4:30 vigil. We decided to make a run for it.

St. Cecilia's was beautiful. It is this tiny chapel sized church in the woods of St. Mary's City with an energetic priest. Inside feels like being in the wooden chapels that the first priests in Maryland built. Mass was just fine.    Afterwards we headed home with a few stops on the way.

Reparation prayer

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

No wonder the men aren't in the pews

I just read an essay on where the Catholic men are. Hint, it's not in the pews. It's no surprise. Most suburban parishes are women's clubs and most of the women seem to like it that way.  Fr. Cruz's Easter dance has made the rounds in the Catholic blog land  recently and I present it with two comments. First, pray for Fr. Cruz. Second, I'll bet this parish is mostly female.

No-one knows the hour or the day---go to Confession

Many of the people killed in the recent Paris terrorist attacks were attendees of the performance of an American based band called Eagles of Death Metal. Although the death metal genre glorifies rape, necrophilia, suicide, murder and the Devil the band has long maintained that the name is just a joke. Is that true? Who knows but they were allegedly singing a song about the devil when real death showed up.

None of us knows the hour or the day when it is time to die but it will come, whether you are in a nursing home, an emergency room, a battlefield, eating in a restaurant or in the full flower of your youth and minding your own business while you and your buddies attend a concert. Go to Confession, now, while you have the time.

Eternal rest grant unto them Oh Lord, let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

Amen

Well this is embarassing

Lamentations

Oh wounds of Christ

Oh Jesus, for the sake of Your Holy wounds. Have mercy on me, a sinner. 

and now, for some happy news

Sr. Alicia Torrres of the Franciscans of the Eucharist of Chicago won the Food TV Chopped competition. She cooks for hundreds of people at the Our Lady of the Angels Mission  every night. 

Let's cut to the chase.... we have one soul to save

Live in the Arlington diocese? Get to praying!

“I have much respect for gays,” including “their way of living their sexuality.”  Archbishop Jozef De Kesel



The Pope just appointed Archbishop De Kesel to  replace the retiring Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard in Belguim.  Bishop Loverde of the Arlington, Virginia diocese is retiring. He's no prize---not at all--- but I shiver at the thought of what we are going to get after him. Archbishop De Kesel sounds horrible but he is a protege of Cardinal Daneels, another horror, who is one of Pope Francis' favorites. Cardinal Wuerl in DC is another favorite the Holy Father. He will have a lot to say about who will be the new bishop of the Arlington Diocese.  If you live in the Arlington diocese storm Heaven now and plead for God's mercy.

Sometimes sitting in the pew is consent to the abomination going on

A lot of people are upset with the priest of Our Savior, in New York City for allowing this. I'm more upset with the people in the pews.While a few good folks probably did leave, the majority just sat there like cold lumps of rancid lard. Whether they liked it or not doesn't matter. Their presence approved of the whole abomination.

REPARATION PRAYER

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

Requiem Mass at St. Rita's

Um, Excuse me, Cardinal Wuerl, I have a bad feeling about this

The frame of reference is now going to be: ‘What does the gospel really say here?’ That’s our first task.”  Cardinal Donald Wuerl

Ode to St. Martin de Pores

I never would've known this jazz ode to St. Martin by pianist Mary Lou Williams who converted to Catholicism in 1956, even existed if it were not for My Catholic Tube. 

Pray for priests, and pray for the celebrity priest in particular

I love and revere the holy priesthood. As part of my Lay Association of the Priesthood membership I have adopted one particular priest and will pray for him for the rest of my life.  As long as my parish priest acts like a priest ought to, I will obey him in all docility and will endeavor to assist him in any way possible to my state of life. I will treat him the same way that I would treat Fr. Solanus Casey or Fr. Baker of Our Lady of Victory. I hate criticizing priests  but bad priests should not be ignored. That's what got us the sodimitical  scandals (Some foolish people say we are "past that" but no, the damage done to individual souls and to the Church's reputation is so great that we will never be past that in our life times) as well all  the great heresies through out history.

Celebrity priests are in a very dangerous position. When they fail in decorum they are like the man who goes to a swimming pool and urinates in the water---in full view of everyone from the diving board. Like Thomas Merton, they are either too famous for their timid superiors to coral them or as in the case of the Jesuits they may have superiors who seem to really like it when they forget their dignity and appear to scorn the pious. These men break hearts, they cause people to lose the Faith and they severely damage themselves.


Fr. Solanus, pray for us.
St. Jean Vianney, pray for us.
St. Pio, pray for us.
Blessed Francis Seelos, pray for us.
St.Andre Bessette, pray for us. *Not a priest but a lay brother
St. John Neuman, pray for us.
Fr. Zenon Kavolyk, martyred by crucifixion in 1941, pray for us.

A Nun

Reparation Prayer

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

Man of Sorrows

When the quiet man stops being polite....watch out.

There is a scene in the 1957, movie Paths to Glory where Kirk Douglas goes off on his commanding officer. It's a wonder to behold. All the suppressed rage, horror, grief and shame over what his commanding officer really comes blasting out. Kirk's character, Colonel Dax could not stop the injustice that just took place but he will not be silent. When I watched Professor John Rao  on  Remnant TV  all I could think of was Paths of Glory. Had I been standing next to the professor I think I would have stepped back, sat down rather heavily  and just gaped. 

So, who won the synod?

Well, I'm tempted to say, nobody except maybe the devil because he's the prince of confusion. The pope seemed very unhappy  and if we can trust the English translation, even bitter on the last day of the synod but his man, Archbishop Cupich considers the whole thing to have been a triumph. A few conservative Catholic sites are saying, "See everything is okay," but they aren't very convincing.

The synod did accomplish one thing; it made the situation in the Church clear to anyone who is not willfully blind. Many of the men who are supposed to be serving the Suffering King  don't really believe in Him or His words. They seem to be feverishly working to make the Church into something an agnostic, if not an out right atheist  could be perfectly happy with. The autopsy on this thing will go on for months but no matter what comes of this synod, stay Catholic. Go to a decent Mass, say your rosary, make use of frequent Confession and pray for your priests because they are under tremendous pressure and each one is in tremendous danger. One day, they may be told to give Communion to unrepentant adulterers and to get up in the ambo and cheer sodomy or leave the priesthood. On that day they will need us to stand by them.

My favorite missals

Every time I go to the TLM I use the online Divinium Officium missal. It is simply the best option I've found so far. The creator was the late, Lazlo Kiss, a Hungarian engineer who moved to the United States and began working on the missal in his retirement.  I think he must have been a remarkable man. You can go to the site or use the app on your phone or tablet.

My second favorite missal that I used to use before I found the Divinium Officium site, is the dear old little red Eclesia Dei missal. This is the missal used at St. Rita's and most places that have the TLM and it's what Rocky uses if he's not using his meditation booklet. Thank you Mrs. Mary Kraychy, who worked so hard to publish it.

Random thoughts on a Friday afternoon

A few things I'm sick of:

• Cardinals Goffried Danneels, Donald Wuerl, Timothy Dolan, and Blase Cupich. In a healthier age in the Church they'd be a bishops with a two room mission in a charming spot like Death Valley or at a harmless desk job in the Vatican.

• Self appointed busy bodies who make their parish priest's life Hell. I'm seeing more and more of this, even among Traditional Catholics. I realize that a lot of people were nearly destroyed by the homosexual scandals but spying on your priest is not the answer. If he is behaving in a scandalous manner by all means speak up and contact the bishop or the police if it's a criminal matter but posting messages on various Catholic sites looking for dirt on your new priest before  he's even gotten through his first week at the parish is wrong. Even if there are no juicy bits of gossip for you to feast on,  you've created an ugly atmosphere of suspicion in anyone who reads your post.
  
  In addition to spying on the priest there are the people who try to boss the priest around. Look, I don't care if your family has been in that parish since 1657, or provided the money for the entire building,-- we are not Protestants. You do not own the parish and the priest is the possession of God, not you. Going berserk because he moved that ugly Jesus-and-the-children- playing-baseball painting you like, is wrong and frankly, it's likely that a whole lot of your fellow parishioners were thankful he did. Getting ugly because the priest who is allergic to flowers decided that he doesn't need a three foot wall of them  in front of the altar is wrong. Screaming at the priest because he did not like your pumpkin and wheat altar decorations is wrong and perhaps you should do something about raising your taste level. Throwing a hissy fit because the priest asked your daughter to refrain from wearing a strapless dress the next time she lectors is wrong and shows that you lack both sense and control of your household. Priests have hard enough, they need proprietary parishioners to make it worse.
  
• American Victimology. Everybody is a victim now whether they got sick or took offense at something they overheard in the lunch room. Celebrating self pity and neurosis can not be good for the country
  
• A close cousin of the victimology fad is the constant near worship of single mothers. First off, I want to point out that a single mother by choice is not the same as a widow. Secondly, I happen to be believe this choice is child abuse. I have two relatives who had multiple children out of wedlock. One had six boys. All of them are either dead or in prison except for the two that were adopted by a kind couple.  The other cousin had five children. Except for the oldest who was raised by her mother and and stepfather, all of the kids are ruined. Look at the prison population-- it's mostly sons of single mothers. Look at the millions of victims of violent crime. Their attackers were mostly son's of single mothers. Lionizing single mothers just ignores the social and personal disaster that has arisen with the nation wide acceptance of them. 

A couple of things I really like:

• Although, I DO NOT see Lord of the Rings as a Catholic allegory and I am not one of those tiresome people who seem to think you must read the entire Tolkien body of work every year or you are a bad Catholic and a dullard--- this post by Ann Barnhart left me very moved. If you are a serious Catholic and you know one plus one is two, fire is hot, water burns and that Our Lord hates sin and died a horrible death to save us from the consequences of sin and that He does not smile benignly when you commit sin, then yes, you will be mocked by the cool kids, by the folks at Patheos and Aletia and by people you care about but you carry on, even though it hurts.
  
• Silver Hill Treasures and four other veil makers are sponsoring an Advent Veiling event to encourage women who want to wear a scarf or mantilla but may be timid about it. This has NOTHING to do with the Latin Mass Society which  has had an annual wear your veil day for a few years now. I thought at one time that the young man who founded LMS meant well but was  trying too hard to make Catholicism hip. Now I don't. The "Crown Maiden" photos, which show models in suggestive poses while wearing mantillas are so problematic that they overwhelm the otherwise respectable and traditional material on the site. A priest who knew the founder of LMS has written a serious  warning about the founder. Just so there is no confusion, LMS has NOTHING to do with the Latin Mass Society in England that is run by Dr. Joseph Shaw.
  
  
•  This chicken and her veil made me smile. 
  

Reparation prayer

The Shroud of Turin shows that Our Lord's crown was more of a cap than a circlet.

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

to bury the dead

So what is the synod really about?

It seems like it's about 

This

and This

Neither which has diddly squat to do with Catholic family life. 

Thanks, Charles

A Jazz Anima Christie

Jazz pianist and music arranger, Mary Lou Williams became Catholic in 1958,  and in her absolute delight with finding the Faith she composed a swingy version of Anima Christie using the Cardinal Newman translation. It's not for Mass obviously, but I like it even though I've never cared for the Cardinal Newman version. I knew about Mary Lou as an artist but I never knew she was Catholic. Thank you  David L. Gray for posting about her on your Catholic Tube site. 

I'm sorry Kim Davis

It's a pity that Kim Davis is a Protestant but after the behavior of Catholic writers and even Vatican officials I don't see her converting. People- Catholics have mocked her looks, her sad past and have shied away from her like a kid in high school who joins in picking on someone only  because any amount of meanness to someone who has done you no harm is better than not being one of the cool kids. Kim Davis has a long way to go. Yes,her marital history is a problem and I would not have picked her to be the test case for defying the Supreme Court  but you know what? Not one Catholic Clerk of the Court in this whole big land, stood up or announced that they were resigning. This lady has guts. And like the heroine in the *Awakening Conscience painting she's had a glimpse of truth. God willing, she will continue on the right path.

*The painting is one of the Victorian problem picture genre. The heroine is not the man's wife but his mistress. He's given her every material comfort but suddenly to her own shock she realizes that this is not right. She bolts off his lap and we assume with goes on to a new chaste though not necessarily easy life.

hurt but not yet slain

I'm still feeling pretty bad  but it's like the poem, that goes " A little I'm hurt but not yet slain. I'll just lie down and bleed a while. And then I'll rise and fight again." My uncle's funeral is on October 17 and once that is done I think things will be better for me and my mother.  If you have Transamerica insurance or your insurance company has been bought by them all I can say... scream is "Dump them". I've never dealt with a slower and more unresponsive company in my life.  So, until I can will myself into being what my husband fondly calls his "vinegar Dym, Dym" I've been taking some comfort/distraction in Twitter and Hilary White's new blog,  What's Up With the Synod.

Thank you all

Thank-you and God bless everyone for your kindness, prayers and sympathy.

Sheepfolds

There is only one sheepfold and only one Shepard. The servants of the Shepard, even  His top servant, His vicar can fail us and break our hearts but don't leave the Shepard. 

Our Lady has warned us

“The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see Cardinals opposing Cardinals, Bishops against other Bishops. The priests who venerate Me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres (other priests). Churches and altars will be sacked. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises, and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

Our Lady of Akita

Reparation prayer

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)

Repartion prayer

REPARATION PRAYER

Eternal Father, turn away Thy angry gaze from our guilty people whose face has become unsightly in Thine eyes. Look instead upon the Face of Thy Beloved Son, for this is the Face of Him in Whom Thou art well pleased. We now offer Thee this Holy Face, covered with shame and disfigured by bloody bruises in reparation for the crimes of our age in order to appease Thine anger, justly provoked against us. Because Thy Divine Son, our Redeemer, has taken upon His Head all the sins of His members, that they might be spared, we now beg of Thee, Eternal Father, to grant us mercy. AMEN.

(from the Holy Face Devotion prayers)