random thoughts on a Tuesday night

• Christmas vacation is the happiest time of the year for me. For 7 days I cook, clean and spend long nights lying on the couch, laughing and telling stories with my family. My mother and I can hang out long past midnight, eating pecans and talking about all kinds of things. It's a real gift from God.
  
  
  
•  I don't want to hear about the Nuremberg Code anymore. Folks, in order to have Nuremberg you have to win the war.
  
  

• Why do Catholic women post photos of themselves in immodest clothing or poses, particularly when they state that they are on their way to church or while standing in front of the altar?  Why do these women always seem to have a priest friend who posts a compliment or a defense of her when someone asks why she's dressed like that? I just saw a Christmas card where the woman is doing the trout pout with her buttocks stuck out at a bizarre angle, and standing next to her wimpy looking husband. Is is narcissism, feminism or just an infection of worldliness? 
  
  
  
• I've noticed something wonderful. None of the young priests I've heard in the last couple of years do that horrible sing-song lispy baby talk voice when they speak. It's finally fallen out of fashion in the seminary public speaking class. The only ones who still do appear to be over 60. 
  
  
  
  

Adoration

Thy Almighty Word Leapt down from Heaven.... As a Fierce Conqueror

 

THY ALMIGHT WORD LEAPT DOWN FROM HEAVEN....

For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course,  Thy almighty word leapt down from heaven from thy royal throne, as a fierce conqueror into the midst of the land of destruction.
The Book of Wisdom, Chapter 18, verse 11

Merry Christmas

 The Coming of Christ aired on NBC in 1961. Can you imagine this today? 

It's frequently a bad thing when one's diocese makes the news

 Bishop Burbidge has an announcement. 

random thoughts for a Saturday morning

•  And Mary went in haste....  How did Our Lady get to St. Elizabeth's house? It's about 90 miles from Nazareth to Aim Karim. She must have joined a caravan but a young girl of 15 or so would've attracted the wrong kind of attention and it never would've been permitted. Some theologians have posited that St. Joseph, her legal husband or other relatives must have gone with her and St. Joseph came again to pick her up after three months. 
  
• I mentioned to my mother that the Filipino community at my old parish is having Simbag Gabi  novena Masses. My mother asked if anyone who isn't Filipino is welcome. I hesitated to answer and finally said that anyone can go to Mass but a non-Filipino probably wouldn't be treated to the fellowship and people might not be comfortable in his or her presence the same way Vietnamese or Korean or Hispanic parishioners aren't too happy when someone outside their ethnicity shows up at their dedicated Mass.   My mother made a disapproving sound. I said that if the Filipinos have to lose their customary Advent Masses then the Charismatic Masses, the Spanish Mass, the Ordinariate and the Afro-Gospel Masses and definitely  the celebrate whatever sexual penchant you have Masses need to go too, out of fairness.
  
  My mother made another disapproving sound and indicated that she was disappointed because she thought Catholic meant universal and she asked me to explain why Pope Francis is taking my Latin Mass away. I couldn't give her a satisfactory answer. Drat! Every time I think that my mother is getting closer to converting something happens. 

• Rocky's work schedule has changed so we can't go to Mass at our old parish. Where we're going now is  valid and fulfills our Sunday duty.  It's a regular vanilla Novus Ordo in that nothing is shocking or  too horrible. We'll never have dancing girls or dogs sitting next to the altar.  On the other hand, it's nothing sublime either. Unless we have a guest priest, or the bishop comes, the homilies are rambling pep talks or sports analogies or joke filled. Father--who is a very sweet, kind man,--- moves around like a game show host. We don't have the Confiteor and never hear the Roman canon.  We have nice bread and butter priests who are extremely careful and under great pressure not to offend any of the very rich people who attend and have the power to call up the bishop and get their calls answered.  
  
  During the week we have a respite. We go to a small parish that has (for how long?), an evening  traditional  Low Mass. One night, as we were leaving that church Rocky turned to me and asked rhetorically what would happen if one of the Fathers  at our Sunday Mass spoke a homily like the ones we hear at the week-day TLM parish. It would be incredible. 
  
  
  
  
• A Christmas Carol was published for the first time on this date. It's amazing to think that the man who wrote it later in his middle age became viciously cruel to his wife, driving her from their home and taking up openly with a mistress. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is Francis? Who does he love? I don't know but I don't think it's what we have a right to expect. 
  
  
  
  
• The lovely Tea at Trianon blog has a fine defense of Our Lady and reminder that you should read a little history and not get your theology from Evangelical and Jewish movies. Mary was not an unwed mother. 

Tornadoes

 So far 50 people are dead from this week's tornadoes. Instead of giving your money to some dude running a blog, a lay media apostolate or a You Tube channel send your dollar to help your fellow Americans who have lost everything. The Owensboro diocese has a donation link here .

Thank you, God!

 Yesterday Rocky called me to say he'd be late getting home because.... the SUV engine appeared to be on fire. 

He pulled over and when the smoke died down he pushed the Ford Explorer to a gas station.  Thank you, dear Jesus. The image of His Sacred Heart is in  both our vehicles.  Thank you, St. Christopher. Thank you, St. Martha and St. Alphonsus, Rocky's patron saints. Thank you to Rocky's guardian angel.  Rocky is fine. The Explorer is at the station and we'll see what can be done with it. My husband was able to get a rental for the weekend that doesn't cost the earth  and my nerves settled down sometime last night. 

God is good. 

Salvation Army

 The Salvation Army is an Evangelical Protestant sect. Never mind the recent insult to the largest group of donors; you shouldn't be giving to the Salvationists anyway.