Random thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

•  I once went to a Mass that had a Charismatics service right afterwards. They had men standing by to catch people and  blankets to keep those "slain in the Holy Spirit" warm until they got up. I did not like what I was seeing. If you find  yourself in the presence of someone howling gibberish, and/or falling into a faint  in church, know that is not of God.  Have you ever noticed that  these people  never suddenly start talking to a non English speaker in their own language?  I know of only one outsider who said he understood what a speaker of tongues was saying and that person, a priest from an African country said they were screaming blasphemies.
  
  A few years ago, Rocky helped an Afghan family at Aldi's to understand how the shopping carts and quarter work. He did not speak Dari or Pashto, he mostly pantomimed and the husband got the picutre. Presumably, if a  a person with the gift of tongues had happened by, that individual would have been able to take charge and explain the Aldi shopping carts with eloquence and with a perfect accent. Ann Barnhardt says it better than me here. 
  
  
  
  
• Philip Lawler has a question.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I was at the gastroenteritis's office yesterday and mentioned that the last serious coughing, gagging reaction I had was when my marijuana adoring neighbor walked by me. The doctor told me that he went to college in the 70s and weed was everywhere on campus but it didn't smell like a long- dead skunk like it does today. 
  
  
  
  
• If anyone signed up for this, then they simply can't be helped outside of Divine Intervention. 

Random thoughts on Monday morning.

•  My Uncle Jr. is home now. His son, my mother, his doctor and various friends and family have all spoken sternly to him and his freezer is now full of frozen dinners, and he has a case of Ensure in his pantry. He's never going to be happy eating three meals a day but if we can at least keep him at a healthy level of nutrient intake that would be a great blessing. Thank you to everyone who prayed for him.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• You know, this Harrison Butker thing is strange. A man gives a commencement speech at a small Catholic college that most people, Catholics included probably have never heard of so why was this pounced on by so many liberals? Do these people spend their lives searching for things to be offended by? Are they monitoring/spying on Catholics? Does anybody find this disconcerting?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• When Judgement Day comes one of the many astounding things we will all hear is the number of people who left the Church because of the man, boy and ultimately woman hating  1970s-80s, pant suit mannish nuns like the The Benedictines of Mount Saint Scholastica. This type of professed religious  repulsed me when I was in high school but thank God, I had the example of real Daughters of Charity sisters who taught most of the classes.  As an adult I still  do not want any part of nuns like this. These fakes  need to be suppressed. If Saint Scholastica were to walk into their monastery she'd be very displeased.

• Pentecost Mass was... disappointing. The homily was sweet but I felt that it was appropriate for children rather adults and we didn't get to hear Veni Sancte Spiritus. I went to the Canon's You Tube channel for a decent homily. 

In your charity and 3 tips on finding a Catholic bride....

•  In your charity could you please pray for my Uncle Jr? He's afraid of gaining weight so he only eats one meal a day with a mineral oil chaser. Snacks are anathema. He's been like this  for years. On Mother's Day he was invited to a family dinner and  did a little extra fasting in order to prepare for the big meal. Well, not surprisingly, he fainted in his home,  knocked himself out and lay helpless on the floor for hours. He'll be the hospital for 48 hours of tests and observation. Eating disorders are not exclusive to young women. He's got to change his diet ASAP. 
  
  
  
  
• I've noticed some young Catholic men are asking on social media why they can't find a good wife. Well, I can offer three suggestions.
  
  
  
• First, check your hygiene. I can't even tell you how many times I've sat in a pew and wondered where that hot blast of pure funk was coming from. In the suburbs, it's usually wafting off the young guy sitting in front of me. Guys, it may be honest sweat and you may have the body of an Adonis but if you stink, the young ladies will not smile upon you.
  
  
  
• Second, have a job, a real one. Your part time social media manager job for a small Catholic  podcast will not support a family and neither will your Mechanical Turk or  Door Dash delivery gigs. 
  
  
  
• Thirdly, mind your manners. If you can't speak and conduct yourself in a genteel manner around a girl, how do you expect to get a date, much less married?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

random thoughts on a hot Wednesday night

•  Rocky wanted to go to Confession after work and since it was the first of the month there was a long line. An old man loudly wanted to know which confessional father was going to be in because he didn't want to wait long. Rocky explained to him that he didn't know. Fr. X is usually at the confessional Rocky was standing next to so he was guessing that's where the priest would be. The old guy wasn't satisfied. The line and the uncertainty agitated him. Finally I got up and stepped outside to call the rectory. As it turned out Fr. X had an emergency and couldn't hear confessions anyway. The old guy was still unhappy and vocal about it when we left. We'll try again on Saturday.

• Movements and national consensus don't happen or change overnight. We are now reaping what was sown several decades ago. The worm always turns, things go so far in one direction that human nature requires a course reversal but most of the people who longed for or feared the change are  dead when it finally happens. Back in the 70s it was considered cute and spunky when women reporters insisted on being in men's locker rooms,  girls demanded to go to all male colleges, and  women wanted membership in even private male clubs. Now, a naked man can be in the locker room with women and girls. Teen boys and men are winning at female sports and until a girl gets seriously injured on national television or men dominate in female events in the Olympics, they will continue to do so. I'm sure nobody saw that coming back in 1972.
  
  A few weeks ago I saw a video of a fight between two girls in a restaurant. Multiple people asked where the men were to stop it when one of the girls started losing badly. I wanted to know what cave these people have been dwelling in for the last 60 years. Women have been declaring that they don't need men and while I'd say that up until the 90s most guys just brushed it off,  an increasing number of young and middle aged men  are saying "okay" and "bye" and are minding their own business. You can call them wimps, losers or whatever insult you can think of but you won't be able to call them for help.