Whispers in the Loggia engages in some wishful thinking

Something amazing has happened with the Whispers in the Loggia. The guy who writes it has grown up over the last few months. The whole tone of the blog has changed for the better. In this post he writes aboout Vietnamese Catholics who have a ginormous Marian festival every year. He ends the post with the words, "US Church, this is your future....Welcome it."

Well um.... no. Bless his heart but US Catholics (white Catholics to be blunt--- sorry if this irks anybody) are very insular. At the sight of a group (10 plus) Catholics of other races in the room the average US Catholic will quietly ease out of the back door.


Last night I saw a little bit of this. After the Assumption Vigil Mass Rocky and I noticed that there was a stunningly beautiful statue of Our Lady in the chapel. The Hispanic parishioners were celebrating the vigil by spending an evening of prayer with our dear mother. With their own money they completely transformed an ugly modern little chapel. Banks of pink and white flowers and pink and white candles were all around the altar. The chapel was packed. Everyone was decently dressed (sadly I can not say the same about the Americans in the main church) and even the kids were silent. Other than Rocky and I not one American set foot in the chapel. The non Hispanic parishioners stopped, peeked in, saw all those Hispanics and quickly moved on. Even the priest seemed hesistant about going in. That's the future of US Catholicism. I'm not happy about it, I'm just pointing at the pooping elephant in the living room.

The Assumption

I haven't been feeling well since we got back from our trip so Rocky and I went to the Vigil Mass for the Assumption. When I wasn't hot and cold I felt alternately dizzy and nauseated. I have to admit to being exceptionally cranky tonight. Everything from the off key cantor to the endless verses of the Gloria, to the clapping for the choir (we were not at our parish church tonight) bugged me. I tried to concentrate on the homily and on the fact that Jesus was there on that altar patiently putting up with the lame music and with me and that helped a bit.



Oh Mary, concieved without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Oh mother of the Eternal Word, pray for me!
Oh dear mother, dear model, dear heroine keep prodding me towards you divine Son!

and the band played on...

Well the stories are coming out just as I thought they would. It seems the priest who went jogging naked as a jay bird has had a history of odd behavior. A neighbor says he goes nude with the windows open and he was once accused of appearing nude in front of several boys. He's been in years of therapy. When will the bishops ever learn that therapy is useless if the patient does not want to change?

The continuing crisis.... another priest gives scandal

By now you've probably heard or read about the priest who went jogging in the nude on a high school jogging track. He's been suspended. He told the police that he sweats profusely and took his wet, sticky clothes off for comfort's sake and never thought he'd be seen by anyone. I don't believe that. My husband sweats a river but it's never occured to him to go nude in public. I suspect that this poor priest needs intercessory prayer because he probably had certain fantasies and on this night he decided to act on them. The urge to run naked in woodsy places in not uncommon but most of us who don't have Playboy as our moral guide don't go for it. Something is wrong here and don't be surprised if some of this priests former parishioners have a few salty stories to tell the media in the days to come.

back from nashville

Well we made the trip to Nashville. It was interesting. We saw my family of course, and the Hermitage, the Parthenon, the County Music Hall of Fame, (Dolly Parton had the tiniest little waist) hit the malls and we walked up and down Broadway past the rib places and honky tonks. Tennessee isn't as pretty as Virginia. It's a very masculine looking state. There's about 18 inches of topsoil on top of rock. The whole vibe was very busy and diamond hard; it didn't feel graceful or Southern at all. We went to Opryland and were delighted to see the Knights of Columbus there for their convention.

We had a cook out at the home of one of my relatives and someone put on the Talladega Nights DVD. The movie is vulgar, blasphemous, lewd and incredibly offensive. It didn't have to be. The plot line was clever and the story could've been told in a funny and yet non-filthy way.


We went to St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows for Mass. It is the oldest church in Nashville. It's a handsome church and the very spry elderly priest was charming. I was pleased to see one young lady wearing a mantilla. On Sunday we went to a different church that I won't name. It was a dreadful experience. The five piece music group totally dominated the Mass. The women bounced around (one was very large girl and needed a better bra on) and shook their hips while singing the most insipid praise and worship music I have ever heard. The parishioners refused to sing along and maintained a stony silence or talked among themselves while the music went on and on and on. Father's homily was adequate. There were several eucharistic ministers. I did not wish to go one but I would've had to have cut through multiple lines to reach the priest. I didnt go to communion because my thoughts were so uncharitable that I dared not approach the Lord in that frame of mind. As soon as Fr. passed by during the recessional I bolted.

vacation

Rocky, Mama and I are going to Nashville to visit relatives for a few days. Last night we went to Mass at St. Rita's. It was exquisite. Fr. Scalia had Adoration, Benediction and confession beforehand. What a great joy for us all before we hit the road. If you're in the Alexandria area come to St. Rita's. Fr. Donahue is a saint and Fr. Scalia is a really fine young man.


St. Christopher, pray for us.
St. Dymphna, pray for us.
St. Martha (Rocky's patron), pray for us.

Who beat up the bishop Pt. 2

The bishop says he fell down eight or nine carpeted stairs but the evidence suggests that he took a nasty beating instead. It looks like this story isn't going away any time soon.

how to kill the romance in your marriage

1. Flop around the house naked. I don't care what that bobbled headed skeleton, Victoria Beckham says, hanging around the house naked just makes your body seem ordinary. An orthodox rabbi once told me, ('nother story, 'nother time) that a wife should never be seen completely unclad unless she means business. I don't think I need to elaborate.
   
   
   
2. Be slovenly. I'm not saying you need to be Martha Stewart but doing disgusting things like leaving your underwear on the floor (my mom was a housekeeper for 30 years, she's seen women of all classes do this), not being discrete about your menses, neglecting to buy new underwear for years at a time, and turning into a slob after the honeymoon are all romance killers.
   
   
3. Making your husband the butt of every one of your jokes. Ever notice how some women can't seem to go ten minutes without making some kind of critical or mocking remark about their husbands? It's uncomfortable for the listeners and it cuts your husband to the quick until he stops caring. When that happens your marriage is dead or almost there.
   
4. Always putting your children first. Your first duty is to your marriage. I know a woman who fussed and cried and made her husband's life hell because she wanted a house in the country. She was convinced that country living would be better for the kids. After a year of misery her husband bought her that house in the country. His two hour commute is now four hours. The wife is delighted with her country home and yes, the kids love playing in the woods but her husband is quietly seething with resentment and no longer feels the same way about her. She won the battle but has lost the war.
   
   
5. Treating your husband like nothing more than a paycheck. Some women are so busy with their families, their friends, their kids, and their careers that they forget about their men. I know women who act as though they really don't care what their husband's do or feel as long as that paycheck is in the bank on Friday.
   
   
6. Listening to the wrong people. Don't listen to your divorced sister's advice on marriage. She blew it and the odds are she doesn't even know why. Don't listen to your man-hating best friend and for pity's sake don't listen to magazines like Glamour, Redbook, Cosmopolitan or Playgirl. Find a godly woman who has been married for ten plus years and study her. Is her husband happy? Does her home seem liveable? Is she content? That's the woman you should be paying attetion to.
   
   
7. Turning into a nagging shrew. This one is obvious.
   
   
8. Never being satisfied with what you have. If your husband can not afford the kind of lifestyle you want you have two choices: rethink your fantasy or get a job yourself. I am not of course, talking about the guy who can't keep a decent job or the guy who is so unmotivated that he hasn't had a promotion in ten years. I'm talking about the man who makes a perfectly comfortable living and still can't seem to satisfy his wife becuase she want's to live like the movie stars and the rich folks she sees in the magazines.
   
   

Did the bishop fall or was he roughed up?

Oh dear. Someone please inform the Vatican. Looks like something's afoot in Arizona. Let the truth--- whatever that may be, come out now before this thing snowballs into a scandal.

Something smells

Terry of the Abbey Roads 2 blog smells a rat. I think I smell the same rodent. Most of the professional lay Catholics (converts or cradle) give me the creeps. I don't feel comfortable with a layperson hawking their books and CDs and acting as thought they are a voice of church authority.

Rocky's birthday.

43 years ago the love of my life was born in Olathe Kansas. Rocky's father was in the Air Force which is the only reason they were in Olathe and back in '64 it was the kind of place a black person really didn't want to hang around. Luckily they got much better assignments after that and Rocky traveled the world before running into me.

We celebrated the big day by going to Baltimore. We went to Mass at the Basilica It was lovely. My only qualm was the sight of the altar boy giving out Communion. That kid couldn't have been more than 14. After Mass we walked down to the crypt chapel and stayed with Jesus in the tabernacle for a while.

Next we headed over to St. Alphonsus. What a church! It's decorated in Southern German gothic style and it is so beautiful I was stunned. My heart was ravished by the sight of the place. It was like a peep into heaven. St. Alphonsus is special not only for it's staggering beauty but because two saints were once pastors there; St. John Neumann and Blessed Francis Seelos. If you're in Baltimore go visit.

Later we stopped by the Baltimore Cathedral. It was okay. It is sort of a mix between the Episcopalian National Cathedral and the DC Basilica. There was no light on in the Blessed Sacrament chapel. We weren't too impressed by that.

Then we went to dinner at Gladys Knight's restaurant. The line was long, the decor is pedestrian and the food was only adequate. You'd get better waffles at IHOP. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID.

Thankyou Jesus

A friend of mine's husband has been out of work since April. I went to church this Sunday and asked Baby Jesus to get him a job this week. On Monday my friend got a phone call from her husband. He got a job offer. Thank you Divine Infant King.

my last harry potter post

I am increasing feeling tired of the whole HP phenomenon. What does it say about us that more Catholic people want to talk about a KID'S book on the blogs and the Catholic Answers Forum than the Holy Father's book on Christ? Grown people with presumably things to do stood in line for hours to get a KID'S book. How many of them would stand in line to buy the Bible?

This last book in the series reminded me of a big white cake with almond butter cream frosting made with sugar, butter, almond extract and a dash of powdered bird's droppings. Yes, it was highly entertaining and yes, Harry ends up happily ever after --- did you really doubt it? But euthanasia is shown here in a noble light. I found that unnerving.

Awesome!

Dreams and nightmares

This Jesuit dreams of women cardinals and he's not having a nightmare. Good grief. I propose that someone start a movement begging the Holy Father to suppress the Jesuits again. The order either needs a great reformer or it just needs to die since many of them have clearly forgotten what St. Ignatius meant for them to do

Chips and beer?

I was looking at the National Shrine of St. Rita's web site (we were thinking about making a pilgrimage) and was startled by what looked like a bowl of chips and a pitcher of beer.

Dear Lord, it's not chips and beer it's the Precious Blood in a glass pitcher and His own body in a serving bowl. Why do people do things like this? It's like a certain group of church folk aren't satisfied unless they are spitting in Our Lord's eye.



St. Rita, pray for us.

bikini car wash

Sunday Rocky and I were driving along when we passed a Methodist church. They were having a charity car wash and all the girls were wearing bikinis or bikini tops with skimpy shorts. The boys were wearing shorts and t-shirts but they were doing the drying. The girls were the ones getting wet. This was probably deliberate. If I were a member of that church I'd be in the pastor's face and who ever is in charge of the kids asking why they chose to pimp out the girls like that.

I guess we live in such a pornified culture that even Christians think its cute to use sex to sell a product.

The death of Tammy Faye

Rest in peace, Tammy Faye. God's mercy be upon you and may you be in a place where you can see that Jesus and heaven are nothing like the nonsense your ex used to spout.

A sick culture breeds monsters

In a Florida slum a woman and her child were raped by as many as 10 teenaged boys. Other things happened which I will not print here but not one neighbor called the police. Not one "neighbor" came to the aid of this suffering woman and her child. They ended up walking to the hospital for help. Take a good long look at this story, America. 

While we were all watching Oprah, OJ, Anna Nicole,, Paris Hilton and hyperventalating over Lindsay Lohan and that silly creature, Angelina Jolie; a segment of our society was bubbling and rotting without our notice. The average black kid is born out of wedlock and what happend this month in West Palm Beach is the natural result of such a deformed culture. 

Underclass black boys grow up with a tired, often angry mother and a dad who's either an occasional visitor or is just plain gone for good. They grow up in a sea of misogyny. Rap and Hip Hop are incredibly woman hating forms of music. When they aren't listening to the music they live in places where it is perfectly normal to hear men refer to women as bitches an ho's (slang for whore) in their casual conversations. It is also sadly normal to hear black women of all classes refer to black men as worthles, dogs or merely sex mad fools who need to be managed or hustled. Feminists talk about being free to have kids or not, to continue living one's own wicked life just as one did before the kids were born, and to get married or not but the reality is nothing like what the feminists promised. So what's to be done about this? Much but it will cost sacrifice and that's a dirty word in America today.

• First, black women are going to have to start expecting and demanding better treatment from men.
• Stop having sex outside of wedlock.
• Get an education.
• Get out of the old neighborhood as often as you can and pay attention to how other cultures live.
• Get rid of any friend who tries to drag you down.
• Observe the successful people at school or at work. Learn from them.
• Promise yourself that you'll never settle for life on welfare even if your mom, her mom and her mother before her all did.
• If you already are a single mother get your kids, especially your son into a stable situation. Find a decent man for them to look up to.

Moms' are great. They can be heroic. They can be noble. They can be self-sacrificing, mine certainly was, but mom is not dad. Kid's need a dad in their lives and if you have an entire culture where nobody has a dad don't be surprised in you end up with feral, hostile, violent boys.

The obligatory Harry Potter post

Well, today is the big day. The last Harry Potter book will be released at midnight. I can't say that I'm excited. I did not like the last book and I'm in no great hurry to read this one. If I had young kids I wouldn't let them read HP, never mind the witchcraft for a minute-- there is an incredible amount of death, pain and violence in Harry's world and I'm not sure that's good for the little ones.

Back to the witchcraft, one thing that really caught my attention is that the world's leading exorcists are having a convention in Mexico (pretty good place if you're a fighter of dark forces) and they don't like the HP series at all. Apparently, neither does the pope. I think I'll defer to the priests who deal daily with the wickedness and subtle snares of the devil on this issue.

Hat tip to Spirit Daily

600 million

By now, everyone knows that the LA diocese made a 600 million dollar settlement on clergy sex abuse claims. Cardinal Mahnony apologized to the victims and wants to move on. Sure, Your Eminence, whatever helps you sleep at night.

Very likely some LA diocese folks are going to lose their parishes and schools to pay for this debacle.

I loved John Paul II and I bless his memory but let's be honest, he reigned but did not discipline. I'm sorry if this upsets anyone but that's how I feel. Perhaps, as Peggy Noonan suggested it was because, he simply couldn't fathom how many of his bishops and priests were gay. Perhaps (and I don't really believe this, I'm just tossing out ideas), it was because he knew that rooting out the sodomites would be a hard, nasty fight and he felt his charism lay in evangelization instead. At any rate, think of all the schools that could have buit for 600 million. Think of all the free hospitals we could've had. Think of the nursing homes that could've been built and think of the churches that we could've had. Instead we have shame, misery, ruin and one day, wrecking balls.

Revolting!

When I read these words of Bishop Brandolini, "I can't fight back the tears. This is the saddest moment in my life as a man, priest and bishop..." "It's a day of mourning, not just for me but for the many people who worked for the Second Vatican Council. A reform for which many people worked, with great sacrifice and only inspired by the desire to renew the Church, has now been cancelled, "I was filled with disgust.


I felt disgust that a grown man would indulge in such sissy talk and I felt ashamed for him. I am old school when it comes to men--- well okay, I'm old school period. There are only five times when I want to see a man publicly fighting back tears : The country had been attacked. His beloved wife has died. His parents or a child have died. His best buddy has died. His faithful old dog has died. Any other time I expect him to contol himself. If the freeing of the old Mass is the saddest moment of Bishop Luca Brandolini's life then I have to wonder what kind of pastoral experience he's had all these years. Has he never counseled sinners in the confessional? Has he never said a funeral Mass or given last rites to a previously hardened sinner? Has he never lost a friend or family member?

Revolting!

In The End There Can Be Only One

No, I'm not talking about Highlander. I'm talking about the Holy Father's reminder that there is only one church and it aint the non-denominational one that just opened yesterday, nor is the Lutheran or Baptist one either. It's the Catholic Church and none other.

I love this pope! Excuse me while I go be giddy.

Five Things I Love About Jesus

1. He has a sense of humor. Remember the story about the fish with the tax money in it's mouth or His nickname for James and John?

2. He waits for us every day and every night to visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament.

3. He gave us the Church.

4. He knew full well how horrible we can be but willingly suffered the agony in the garden, took that horrible beating and allowed Himself to be flayed and finally crucified because He loves us.

5. He gave us His mother.

Mad for Moto--- Trads please make the most of this

Well! The MP is real and finally here. The Tridentine Mass. has been set free. Thanks be to God.


May the souls of all the people who spent their lives working for this day and who died before it came to fruition, rest in peace.

Now, SSPX please, please respond. Traditionalists, and conservatives please, please respond. Remember that bitterness repells, joy attracts. Be kind to any new person who wanders in asking dumb questions.

Catholics --- suburban Catholics especially are gererally lousy at welcoming newcomers at the best of times. No, we dont' have love bomb people like the Baptists and non-denoms do but a simple hello won't kill you either. Hard stares at strangers or people who aren't the same color or class as you does not help the church or the state of your soul. This is an opportunity folks. Take it.

As for those of us who mostly attend the Novus Ordo, thank God for this day as well. Maybe there will be some changes in the sloppy, irrevrant way the NO Mass is celebrated by so many priests today.

God bless, Pope Benedict. Pray for him. He's shown incredible guts and there are people who hate him for this.

Rocky and Dym go on an accidental pilgrimage

Well, Rocky and I had a day off so we decided to visit the Camelite nuns of Port Tabacco, Maryland convent. It is the first convent in America. We went to the gift shop first and picked up scapulars (Rocky has worn his out) books, and of course, magnets to decorate the fridge. Next we went to the chapel and that was such an exquisite experience. We saw a mother deer with triplets and a fat, saucy ground hog and a raccoon. Monastery life agrees with the wildlife.









After touring the historic building and being awed that four sisters survived in such a small, primitive building we walked by the hermitages and stopped for a few minutes in the visitors hall. We left and continued onto Sacred Heart Church. They have perpetual adoration and we were delighted to find five people in the chapel with us adoring Our Lord.









Next we drove to Saint Ignatius, (1641!) the oldest continualy used Catholic church in America. It was part of the Underground Railroad which ferried escaped slaves to freedom. The parish also has a magnificent chapel for perpetual adoration. Rocky and I both walked in and gasped for joy. It was so beautiful. I dropped to the floor and stayed there in contemplation. It was a powerful experience. Later we chatted with retired Fr. who is in residence.


Next Rocky was starved so we went to Bear Creek BBQ. He had ribs and chicken. I had minced pork. Tasty!

We then drove to St. Mary's, Maryland and looked at the historic campus and the river. It was getting late so we drove home.

A 4TH OF JULY PRAYER

O merciful God, we cry to Thee for pardon and for mercy.

We are an unbelieving and perverse generation.

We are disobedient, disloyal and ungrateful to Thee.

We have excluded Thee from our homes, our schools, our places of business.

We are no longer worthy to be called Thy children.

Merciful Father, spare America!

Forgive us!

Save us from the scourge we deserve.

Teach us Thy law, and move our wills to serve Thee today and everyday.

Merciful God, please spare America!

O Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Pray for us!

AMEN

You come at a very great price

By His stripes we are healed.

Hat tip to Abbey Roads

Holy Cross

Rocky and I went to Holy Cross Monastery yesterday afternoon. It was incredible. The monks of Trappists and it is as you would expect very quiet. The grounds are beautiful. We saw and heard black Angus cows, goldfiches, cardinals, blue buntings and chimney swifts. We visited the bookstore and of course, the chapel.

We were blessed this visit because a priest brought out the Blessed Sacrament for adoration. We sat with four monks. It was one of the most intense adoration hours of my life. If you're in Berryville, go to this very precious place.

The Many Faces of Mary

I've just finished reading the Many Faces of Mary by Bob and Penny Lord. It's a lovely book marred only by the inclusion of Our Lady of Medjugorje. But to their credit Bob and Penny say that if the Vatican ever condemns the apparition they will cease talking about it.

disturbing homily

I went to evening Mass on Friday and the priest, "Fr. Visitor" who was filling in for our vacationing pastor. Fr. Visitor made a snarky remark about the Tridentine Mass and the Holy Father and prayed that the Holy Father restore the practice of letting diocesan priests and bishops reccomend who their new achbishop or cardinal is going to be and having the Vatican simply rubber stamp it. I was horrified. You have only to look at the Boston pedophila scandal to know that having one of the "local boys" elevated to superior of the diocese would not necassarily be a good idea. Fr. Visitor is about 65 to 70 so I'll assume that he's one of those souls who's theology was formed in the 60s or 70s.


Pray for our priests.

The best food meme--tag anyone who wants to play

The worst restaurant I've ever been to:

The Royal Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. The food was poor, the service was below average and they charged us for three meals instead of two. On top of that Rocky had to go there to pick up the refund check in peson..... never again.


The best dinning experience:

I have to split this up into categories. The best barbecue is from Dixie Bones in Woodbridge, VA.
The best cheesecake I've ever had came from the Coach House in Charles City County, VA.
The best breakfast I've ever had was made by my Mama but the second best is cooked up at The Old Chickahominy House in Williamsburg. The best steak I've ever had was eaten at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse.


Best French Fries:
Thrashers Fries at Ocean City, Maryland.

The best ice cream:
Milwaukee Frozen Custard in Woodbridge Virginia or JoJo's softserve in Dumfries, Virginia.

The best Macaroni and Cheese:
my own but the macaroni at Dixie Bones is very, very good.

The best hotel room service:
The Omni hotel in DC

Hello Moto?

It looks like the Moto Proprio is really going to happen. Rorate Caeli has the story.

I saw a well known priest's blog where he posted an admonition to traditionalists and conservatives not be too smug about the MP. With all due respect, Fr. but perhaps you should step away from the computer a bit or take a short trip out of your parish and take a peek at the world around you...smug? Smug! Who the heck is being smug?

The church is in a terrible mess. Millions of people have lost their faith. Millions don't bother to go to Mass at all anymore. An Italian friend of my husband's marvel when she comes to Mass in America because at home she never sees young people in church. Plus, the fight for reverance and beauty in the Mass is not over. Most of the American bishops are going to defy or ignore this just as they ignored the Ecclesia Dei Commission. Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston has already tried to downplay the MP in recent comments on his blog. Considering the state of his diocese you think he'd be happy to try anything but no...

Nobody's being smug. This is a time for intense prayer.

Our Lady of Akita, pray for us.

Librarian's convention

I'm a librarian from 9 to 5 at a private library. The annual convention of the American Library Association was held from Friday to Tuesday this week and I went every day. I had a wonderful time but I was saddened to see no Catholic booksellers there. Several Protestant and even an Islamic press were there (the Baptist publisher had a very sophisticated booth) but not one Catholic publisher. Thousands of librarians were in DC this week and the Catholic publishers really missed a great opportunity.

A few of my favorite hymns meme

I've been tagged by A Thorn in the Pew.

4 Latin Hymns

1. Ave Maria
2. Panis Angelicus
3. O Salutoris Hostia
4. Ave Maria

English Hymns

1. O Sacred Head Surrounded (sung right this gives me chills)
2. Oh God Beyond All Praising
3. What Wonderous Love Is This

I tag anyone who wants to play.......

Hallowed Ground---fixed link

I just found the most amazing blog. It's Hallowed Ground and it's dedicated to old Catholic art and photos. It shows a lost world.

Fr. Cantalamessa's trip is off

Why on earth was the preacher of the papal household going to give lectures at the site of an unapproved appartion is beyond me. Doesn't anyone in Rome care about how this would have looked?

The Franciscans Friars & Sisters of Renewal (New York City)

Here's a beautiful sight. Fr. Groeschel and Fr. Apostoli are in the second row.

exhausted

I'm exhausted but in a good way. I went to help out the altar guild ladies at my church. Most are on vacation so it was just two of us. After polishing the torches, candle holders, the baptismal water holder, and cleaning out the sinks, getting rid of all the dead flowers and chatting with the amazing amount of people who wander in and out of the sacristy looking for Fr. I felt really great. Itchy (got to remember to bring gloves next time) but happy.




One more thing, be kind to your parish priest. He puts up with a lot of personalities and deals with an incredible amout of needs in just one morning.

Do your kids read Lemony Snicket?

Forget about Harry Potter for minute. Christians need to step away from Lemony Snicket. The man made his fortune from kids but gives a huge amount of money to Planned Parenthood. When you buy his books you are contributing to baby killing.

Modest doesn't mean hideous

Looking for modest but good looking clothes? Check out this site. http://www.christa-taylor.com/home I promise there is not one single "Amish-Catholic" looking outfit on the whole site. I especially like the swimsuit.

Sacred Heart adoration

We went to adoration and benediction at our parish tonight. Fr. Theoden led us in prayers and was available for confession. I was excited to see six women (all younger than me!) wearing veils and Rocky was pleased to see that there were quite a few people there tonight.

Fr. Cooper's Catechism class

I've been listening to Fr. Daniel Cooper's First Saturday catechism on Youtube and I'm astonished. He's a good speaker and there were a couple of times when I got teary eyed. He blinks too much and fidgests, and I suspect he's actually quite shy and is fighting it in order to do his job but he's young enough to get over that. He's also SSPX but I really am not bothered by that.

Sorry Rudy, but you're not my guy

God is not mocked.

Nobody is born a priest

Except for Jesus of course. Priests have to come from homes, or communities or schools where the priesthood is respected and the vocation is talked about. This cute ad was posted on Shouts in the Piazza. It's from the diocese of St. Augustine.

It struck me as particularly funny because when I first saw the parochial vicar at my parish I thought, 'Wow, he's just a baby!' I'd love to know how long it took to get this picture and how they managed to get this little guy dressed.

Pray for the Holy Father!

Two days away

Relatives of mine came to visit for nine days. They left last Saturday and Rocky and I decided to take two days for just the two of us to relax. He's really the greatest and he put up with my ..... well, eccentric uncle and aunt like the true knight that he is.

We stayed at Foursquare Plantation in Smithfield and it was heavenly. The owners were lovely hosts and the breakfast was fit for royalty. We took the ferry from Surry and visited Jamestown, Williamsburg and Smithfield. We toured St. Luke's the oldest Protestant church in America (1632) and then we visited Good Shephard the town's only Catholic church. It's a very nice little church. They have no priest so they only have one Mass on Sunday. Priests from the military base come to celebate Mass for them. I guess the parishioners go to Suffolk or Williamsburg for confession or the priest hears it when he comes to them on Sunday. They're doing a great job but I was struck by how sad and a little strange a parish is when there is no priest at the center. I was also struck by how kind and friendly the parishioners we met were. They put the folks in Northern Virginia to shame and although they have just 200 families I noticed that they have more parish groups than my own parish. That's devotion.

Our last activity was to visit the Great Dismal Swamp but Rocky realized that I forgot to buy insect repellant so he decided that he wasn't going to risk taking me on the trail. He was right; the bugs are huge and very intent on biting so I didn't argue. Just hanging out on the driving portion of the park we saw wild turkeys. It's a great place and the next time I'm in the area I'm going back but covered in repellant.

Something Archbishop Fellay said

I expected him to be sour and spouting gloom and doom but his speech last month was remarkably upbeat. He reminded the audience that yes, things in the church are crappy right now but there has always been a crisis in the church. He's right there has always been a problem to fight, whether it was the pharisees trying to kill the apostles, or Arius seducing the people or Martin Luther straining on his chamber pot and getting wild ideas, coldness and money grubbing at the end of the Middle Ages or complacentcy in the 50s. He went on to say that if you love God and you sincerely want to follow Him and His church, He will never, ever drop you. God loves you so don't be afraid.

I found that terribly touching.

I have a few rude questions about Iraq

These are rude questions. I may make some people angry for daring to ask them but so be it. Are the Iraqis worth all the hardship our soldiers and their families are being told to endure?

Be honest. Are we crazy to expect a country with 40% literacy, cousin marriage and low status for women to be capable of democracy? Are they even capable of a government that doesn't rely on dungeons and midnight arrests in order to function? Iraq is not Germany, it is not Japan. It's not even Korea. The culture for modernity isn't there.

Maybe, just maybe it's not a matter of winning. Our military could passify the militants in one week if they were allowed to really put the hammer down. Maybe it's that there is nothing to win. Five hours after we leave Iraq will turn into a blood bath no matter how hard we try to teach them to live another way.

Akita

"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

This is interesting

Archbishop Fellay, the head of SSPX, made a speech. Bishop Williamson, the top SSPX guy in America gives me the creeps but Archbishop Fellay, on the other hand is a charming man who sounds quite sane and eminently sensible. This speech is interesting and I'm posting it with no comment 'cause I'm honestly not sure what to think.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHyghM0pIbk

Could it be us?

In Detroit this year there was only one ordination. A number of people have commented that this is pathetic. Well, it is but maybe this is a sign that God is not pleased with us. Us, the folks in the pews.

• Do you think God is pleased with the people who send their children to Mass or CCD but don't go themselves?
  
  
• How about the folks who make a salary of 150K or more but toss in change or one buck at collection time?
  
  
• What about the people who perform various functions at chuch, not because they love God but because they crave power?
  
  
• What about the people who attend every Sunday, make sure everyone knows that they are big deals at church and who loudly proclaim themselves good Catholics yet are using contraception?
  
  
• What about the people who seem to think that the pastor is their own personal priest and throw hissy fits if he can't come to their house everytime they call?
  
  
• What about the people who come to church and gossip in the pews before and after Mass?
  
  
• What about the women who come to Mass in shorts and stomach baring tops or the ones who wear pants so low that their buttocks are exposed?
  
  
• What about the divorced men and women who strut up to Communion and threaten to raise a stink if they don't recieve?
  
  
• What about the people who scream and carry on if their parochial school offers a scholarship to a few inner city children?
  
  
• What about the people who go to Communion yet do not believe in the Real Presence?
  
  St. Fidelis once said that the presence of bad priests (and perhaps the lack of priests) is a sign that God is displeased with His people. That's something to think about.

Fr. Michael Pfleger

Father, have you no sense of shame? What went wrong in your vocation?

The pastor of St. Sabina Church in Chicago has made a bizarre and shocking statement in public. Please pray for Cardinal George, the head of this diocese. There is only one thing for him to do. May he have the courage to do it.


St. Athanasius, pray for us.
St. John Vianney, pray for us.
St. Pio, pray for us.
St. John Bosco, pray for us.
Fr. Solanus Casey, pray for us.
Blessed Andre, pray for us.
St. Louis deMonfort, pray for us.
Servant of God, Archbishop Sheen, pray for us.
St. Therese, you went to Carmel to pray for priests, pray for this one and for us.
Oh Jesus, model of the priestly heart, have mercy.

Drat!

One of the pics on my St. Joan post came from a copyrighted source. I got it from just typing in St. Joan and images so I didn't realize where it came from so I've deleted the entire post.

Rest in peace.

Happy Memorial Day

The church in need

Last night Rocky and I watched a program on EWTN. It was about the Catholic Church in Ukraine. I was moved to tears by these people's courage. When the Soviets destroyed their churches they simply hid their priests in their own homes and sneaked them from house to house to say Mass each Sunday. Imagine getting up and in the middle of the night and quietly walking miles to slip into someone's back door so you can secretly meet with the priest for confession.

We Catholics in the West are so blessed and we don't even appreciate it. I was also impressed by their vocation surge. They showed a convent and a monastery that are literally overflowing with applicants-- all young and and all filled with incredible spirit. There's a lesson in that for us Western Catholics. The next time their is a collection for the The Church in Need please give what you can. It goes to helping these people build churches, bookstores, schools, convents and monasteries.

Happy birthday

It's Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. Rejoice!

God bless you Mr. Wilson

He may be an athiest (pray for him) but he's done more for Catholic schools than 90% of the rich Catholics in New York. Parochial schools were a saving grace for me when I was a child. Thanks to Mr. Wilson other poor and working class inner city kids will get an education in a safe environment and will be exposed to the Faith.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged by Santus Belle.

Eight things about me that you really don't need to know

1. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Nothing really. This blog is my half mad thoughts about the Church, my diocese and my great love and thankfulness for the mercy of God.
2. Are you a spiritual person? No. That's New Age crap.

3. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want to have with you?

A cell phone.

Packaged food and water for two months. If I were Bear Grylls I could hunt and gather but I'd rather have MREs.
A gun and lots of ammo. I know that's more than three things but what's a gun without ammo?

4. What’s your favorite childhood memory? My mother making what seemed like endless stacks of pancakes one frosty December morning while I sat wrapped in a blanket and watched.

5. Are these your first (tagging) memes? No

6. Eight random facts about me.

I love German food.

My favorite place in the whole wide world is Williamsburg, Virginia.

I don't like sitting with my back to the door in public places.

I make incredibly good baked macaroni and cheese.

I used to run a cake decorating business from home.

I wanted to be a nun or an opera singer when I was a girl.

I think Star Wars could be a neat little metaphor for what happens with a priest gets pulled away from his vocation.

I'm passionately fond of bird watching.

I tag anybody who wants to play.

A visit to All Saints in Manassas Virginia.

Rocky and I continued our tour of the diocese this week with a quick stop at All Saints. It was appalling. We saw no crucifix on or near the altar. To be fair, they might have had a small one lying flat on the altar but there was nothing for the folks in the pews to see. Above the altar they had a huge watercolor painting of Jesus doing ballet. They had Him standing on tip toe looking as if He was just about to do a grande jete . I felt something stir in my stomach. We backed out and went to the restrooms which stank and needed a hospitality minister -- er, I mean, a cleaner's attentions. The restrooms were next to the cry room. A little girl frowned at Rocky and said, "This is the cry baby room". Rocky replied that he didn't want to cry and was headed back to the main church as soon as his wife was out of the ladies room. We walked back to the natrex, looked at that hideous painting and Rocky remarked that on second thought crying would be a good idea after all.

We actually found three good things at All Saints. They had a large Pieta statue, a tiny Infant of Prague and an adoration chapel. There were six people in the chapel and they were the only folks we saw who were praying and not dressed in jeans, tank tops or shorts. The tabernacle looked more like a holy water font but since the red candle was next to I must assume it contained the Blessed Sacrament.

We left as soon as we said a prayer in the chapel. All Saints is currently holding a building drive to replace their monstrosity. I hope they don't take that revolting painting to the new church.

The first time I went to a Tridentine Mass

There was a time in my life after high school when I drifted away from the Church. My college years weren't holy by any means. After Rocky and I married I began to recover my senses. One day I decided to go to a Tridentine Mass. I'd been doing a lot of reading about the Faith and the Mass described by the pre-Vatican II books I found talked about a Mass that seemed very different from the guitar and joke telling priest Mases that I was used to.

I checked the diocesan paper and saw that St. Mary, Mother of God had a 9:30 Tridentine Latin Mass. I took a bus and a commuter train to get there. St. Mary's is a very old church in the Chinatown section of Washington, DC. Chinatown is hot right now but back in the 90s it was not a good part of town (The problem was not the Chinese, it was young black men, I'm sorry to say)and I walked very fast to and from the church.

St. Mary's somehow survived wreckovation and retains its altar rail and magnificent altar. Although it badly needs restoration it's still beautiful in the way that your elderly mother is beautiful. I was overwhelmed by that Mass and there was something else.... I wept tears of wonder, and tears of joy.

When I was a kid someone told me that the Novus Ordo and the Tridentine were exactly the same except that the NO is in English. That was obviously not true. If the Mass were a car, the Tridentine would be a Maybach and the NO would be a Toyata. They're both cars but they aint the same. Before anyone gets huffy let me point out that I've seen Toyotas that were quite nice and I've seen dull, ugly Toyotas that were nothing more than a means of transport.

This photo just makes me smile

Doesn't the cardinal look like he's about to bust a move on the dance floor? American Papist gets the funniest photos.

I'd make a lousy apologist, I guess

A few days ago someone I know made a crack about the Church. She had recently seen the movie "Breach" and thought foolishly, that she now knew all about Catholicism. This is the third or fourth time she's make such remarks in my presence. Enough was enough. I leaned forward and politely but firmly let her know that the movie used a lot of artistic license (lying to make the storyline juicier) and that she should take what was portrayed with a grain of salt.

There must have been something in my face becasue she looked surprised and changed the subject. I have a sense of humor but crack on my Faith and I'm as serious as stage four cancer. I could come up with about 100 jokes about this person's religion but being a mannerly sort of woman I would never dream of saying any of them in front of her and certainly not at work. I simply ask the same of her. The next time she makes a remark like that I will visit the personel office at my job and make a complaint.

Hey You! Be a Man!

I think a lot of Fr. Scalia. He's a young priest and he's rock solid. He's a lion in the pulpit and a lamb with pepper jelly in the confessional and when he get's excited about something his preaching is awesome. He celebrates the Novus Ordo--- (The Diocese of Arlington allows the Tridentine Mass in only two churches and his isn't one of them) but does it with as much reverence, beauty and solemnity as can be had. You can listen to his Theology on Tap talk here.

The Pope's new book

In honor of the publication of the Holy Father's new book there was a panel discussion at the John Paul II Cultural Center. Rocky and I decided to go at the last minute and I'm glad we did. Raymond Arroyo sat next to me for a short time. He's actually handsome in person and is quite charming. Arcbishop Sambi, the Papal Nuncio was the first speaker. He was adorable, like your favorite uncle. I'd love to have dinner with him. He talked about how personal this book is to the pope, how much it is an intimate peek at his heart and his own intense search for the Lord.

The next speaker was Bishop Lori (not a bad speaker) and after him came George Wiegel. As a speaker, he's dry as graveyard dust but hey, everybody can't be entertaining. What he had to say was quite impressive though. Finally John Allen spoke. Allen is tall, very thin and as pink as a newborn piglet. I think he'd make a good college professor. His talk was lively and informative. He's also very funny.

There were numerous priests in attendence and we saw three different orders of nuns. If you're ever in DC do visit the John Paul II Center and make your way to K Street to visit the Catholic Information Center which sponsored the event.

I have just started reading the book. It's different. It is not lyrical like an Archbishop Sheen book, it's not full of meaty historical details like The Life of Christ by Ricciotti. It's a lot like sitting on your teacher's lap in kindergarten after falling down and scraping your knee. Sr. would speak very kindly and get you stop crying while explaining that if you hadn't been running around like a wild pony or trying to do that flip or skipping with your eyes closed the fall never would have happened.

The pope was a school teacher (okay college) and with this book he is talking directly to us in a tender, simple way about the Lord. Interesting and surprising.

Fr. Scalia explains why we need to fast before Mass

I read this in a church bulletin this week. It was so good I had to post it.

Duc in altum (Lk 5:4)The Eucharistic Fast

Growing up you may have heard mom say, “Don’t eat right now — you’ll ruin your dinner.” To us boys especially it made little sense. We ate like horses, so we could not understand how eating at 4:30 would possibly prevent more of the same at 6:30. But mom knew. She knew that if we were filled with junk food we would certainly not finish a healthy dinner. But she understood something more important still: there is a difference between eating and dining. If she allowed us to graze through the kitchen any time we wanted, then we would miss the human, civilizing nature of a family dinner. We would come to the family dinner as animals approach feeding time: just another occasion to stuff our faces. We would ruin our dinner.

Mom’s admonition is a good way to understand the Eucharistic fast. Mother Church requires that we abstain from food and drink for one hour before communion (including candy, breath mints, gum, but not water and medicine). She does not want us to ruin the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps this was clearer years ago, when the fast obliged us for three hours before communion or from midnight the night before. Even with today’s modest requirement, the purpose remains the same: we have to make some sacrifice and separation from the world before we approach the Lord’s Table. If we do not, we will rush in and out of Mass and the reception of Holy Communion, just fitting it in to the rest of our errands and outings on Sunday. To prepare us for a meal fundamentally different from any other, Mother Church has us fast.

And just as moms do not want their children coming to the table with an already full stomach, so Mother Church understands the spiritual danger of approaching the Eucharist with a sated belly. When we are physically satisfied, we lose sight of our deeper, more profound spiritual hunger. The Eucharistic fast seeks to provoke a physical hunger to remind us of our spiritual hunger and the insufficiency of the world’s food. After a 10:30 Mass at one parish, I heard a husband say to his wife, “Let’s go eat breakfast.” I expressed surprise that they had not eaten anything yet, since they certainly had plenty of time to do so before Mass. He responded, “Father, how can you hunger for the word of God on a full stomach?”

The Eucharistic fast also helps us understand the purpose of fasting in general. We do not fast because the created world and/or the body are evil (as some heretical sects have believed). Rather, we fast to detach ourselves from created goods so that we can strive for spiritual, eternal goods more freely. We have all experienced the competition between the body and the soul. As the soul strives for holiness and virtue, the desires of the flesh (as Scripture calls them) lead us in the other direction. Fasting is a way of disciplining the body — again, not because it is bad — but so that it will be more peacefully subject to the aspirations and directions of the soul.

We typically associate fasting only with Lent. And, of course, we do fast particularly during that sacred season. But we should integrate some form of fasting into our lives throughout the year. In this regard, all Catholics should know and observe the discipline of the Friday mortification required by canon law. Every Friday throughout the year we are required to perform some act of mortification or self-denial. On Fridays during Lent it must be abstaining from meat. On Fridays during the rest of the year we may eat meat provided that we offer some other sacrifice — e.g. abstaining from alcohol, sweets, TV, etc. In this way we associate ourselves with our Lord’s sacrifice and we cultivate that interior freedom from the world’s pleasures that enables us to seek more generously the Kingdom of God.

— Fr. Paul Scalia

One of the best books I ever read

One of the best books I've ever read was "A Right to Be Merry" by Mother Mary Francis, a Poor Clare nun. She was a beautiful writer and this is a marvelous peek into the extraordinary life of the Poor Clares.

francis beckwith

All the big time blogs are buzzing about Francis Beckwith and his reversion to the Catholic Church. I didn't even know who Beckwith was---(he was the president of an Evangelical group) and I was taken aback by his rather apologetic tone about the whole thing. I just hope that he is happy and doesn't start up some quasi Protestant "ministry". We have too many wanna be priests running around already.

Motu Proprio

I hope I'm wrong but I don't think the Motu Proprio is really coming. At least not in the way many of us are hoping for. We may get a universal indult BUT I suspect it won't have any strength. The bishops will either ignore it outright or the Vatican will give them a face saving loophole of some sort so they can ignore it politely. The other possibility is that the Tridentine Mass will be changed to suit non Catholics and Romanized Protestants. (Catholics in name only). The faithful will be told to accept this new version of the Tridentine or take a hike-- driving the hard core Traditionalists even further away.

At any rate, don't assume that the Motu Proprio will be the great fix to the Church's problems. It's been bad for decades and it's not going to change overnight barring a miracle.

one terrific blog

I have fallen in love with The Walled Garden, the blog of an former firefighter from Alaska who married a Scotsman and lives on a farm now. She's a whirlwind of activity and has excellent insights on the great vocation of being a wife and homemaker.

Scott Hahn makes some unhelpful comments

I'm really surprised by this. I thought Scott Hahn was smarter than that. I loved his book, The Lamb's Supper and I enjoyed A Father Who Keeps His Promises but lately I've been disturbed by his teaching that the Holy Spirit is maternal (In order to be maternal musnt' one be female?) and since he teaches at Franciscan U and teaches seminarians what Scott Hahn thinks is important. I will be less likely to buy any new books by Prof. Hahn in the future.

Two churches in our diocese

So far, Rocky and I have now visited 25 churches in our diocese. We went to Our Lady of Good Counsel on Sunday and it was hideous. The whole church looks like something out of the 70s. I felt like a time traveler. The tabernacle was in a corner and was "decorated" with dead lillies. The few people we saw looked surprised to see us. Either they don't see to many black Catholics or they just don't get too many visitors. A group of teenagers came in carrying four bongo drums and an electric guitar. We fled.


After that we decided to visit St. Catherine of Sienna in Great Falls. After OLGC this was a real blessing. St. Catherines's is gorgeous. Jesus in in the middle of the church, they have real stained glass with pictures that make sense instead of those weird distorted images that seem so popular in churches today. They have windows on the glorious and joyful mysteries and depicting the big events in St. Catherine's life. They also a have a relic of St. Catherine on display. There are statues of St. Therese, Mary and the Divine Infant. I fell in love. Plus the people we met were friendly. If you're ever in Great Falls check this church out.

Show us your veil week

It's Show Us Your Veil Week (HT A Thorn in the Pew and The Walled Garden) and here's a pic of my favorite one. It's Spanish and comes from Halo-Works. I bought the child size because the ladies size is too big for me. I love this veil. It's so sheer and light and stays on my head without pins and it even stays in place when I bow down to the floor in adoration.

I also have a pretty nice veil in light blue from EWTN. It was only six bucks but does not look cheap at all. My other veils are vintage from Ebay or come from a seamstress.

porn nation and a remedy

I was at the hair salon yesterday and someone turned the TV on. The show playing was The Girls Next Door, at reality show about the three Playboy Playmates who are being paid to be Hugh Hefner' "girlfriends". It showed them romping around the house in various stages of nudity.

The owners of this salon are Catholic. Most of the customers are either Ethiopian Catholics, Orthodox, American Baptist/AME Zion or Muslim. Guess what? Had I demanded that the TV be turned off I would've been shouted down. Most of the ladies even the old ones couldn't take their eyes off the TV. They were fascinated, laughed and smiled the whole time. I listened to music and read St. Thomas Aquinas. I don't think I ever truly realized how pornified this country has become until then.


Later, Rocky and I went to St. Rita's for the Vigil Mass and I was comforted. It's Good Shephard Sunday and Fr. Theoden (a very saintly and one of the kindest priests I've ever met) preached about the love our Good Shephard has for us and how He will search to bring us back no matter how badly we've strayed if we just repent. He talked about Project Rachel and how many of the women he's counseled felt at first that they had done something too disgusting to be forgiven. Fr. reminded us that many of these poor women were pushed into abortion by the men in their lives or by their parents. Many got pregnant in the first place because they were trying to be what passes for "normal" in this horrifyingly porn drenched nation.

Dear Jesus have mercy on all the girls and women who watch The Girls Next Door and think this is something to aspire to. Merciful Lord, have mercy on all the girls and women who think that in order to be with the in crowd they have to debase their bodies and besmirch their souls.

Goodbye Miss White

The peppery Hilary of The Devout Life blog has apparently decided to hang it up. It was a fascinating blog written by one of the toughest women in the Catholic blogosphere. I hope she finds what she's looking for one day.

an evening with Fr. Groeschel

On Monday Rocky and I went to Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria for Mass and to hear Fr. Benedict Groeschel. Blessed Sacrament is one of the uglier churches in Virginia but it's a good place.

The Blessed Sacrament is kept in a dignified chapel ( I would prefer to have Jesus on the altar but this is better than a corner or down the hall in a dusty room which I've seen in other Virginia churches). The pastor, Fr. Cregan used to be a Marine and like John Wayne he takes no mess off anybody. Fr. Jaffe, is a big, hearty man's man. Rocky thinks very highly of him. Fr. Workman is a good guy as well. The choir is terrible and they have altar girls (ugh) but the Mass is celebrated reverently and the testosterome level is high.

Now, as for Fr. Groeschel. He is so fragile looking now that I almost gasped when I saw him. He couldn't sit down easily and actually fell into his chair. The impact shook his whole body and it looked like it hurt. This will be the last time I see him, I thought. But then he began to speak and I forgot his infirmaties. His body may be weak but his spirit is still like a young lion. He had planned to talk about living the spirtual life but because of Virginia Tech massacre he spoke about mental illness and evil instead. The church was packed and we were delighted to see a bunch of Missionaries of Charity (they are so tiny) and another order whom I couldn't identify, dressed all in white. There were numerous young priests in attendence and of course there were delightful young friars in the pews. I'm glad we went.

a failure to communicate

I was in a large and very conservative Catholic bookstore and was appalled to see that it had more Medjugorje books than books on Lourdes, Guadalupe or La Sallette. The Vatican, I'm sorry to say really failed on this one. By saying practically nothing and watching as Medjugorje became a phenomenon totally unlike any other apparition John Paul II (whom I dearly loved and whom I believe to be a saint) made a mistake. True, he never made a public statement praising the apparition or the so called visionaries but we also have no evidence that he rejected it in private either. JPII was a strongly Marian pope. If he had said yea or nay that would have been the end of the controversy for many people.

Although the local bishops have strongly condemned it Medj has become a "people's choice." Look in your diocese paper under the pigrimage section and you'll find pilgrimages to Medj. Priests and nuns ---- conservative ones, mind you --- openly attribute their vocations to Mary's "messages". One fantastic young priest says he didn't even start living a Christian life until he found a book on Medj and began to read. A statue of Gospa is displayed prominently at the Grotto of Lourdes in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Sr. Briege McKenna enthusiasticly embraced the apparition as did the now disgraced Fr. Ken Roberts (he wrote the Playboy to Priest book about his coversion back in the 60s)

There is a couple in my diocese who are completely devoted to Medj. and they and and their rosary business were written up in a loving tribute in my diocesan paper. I was reading a beautiful prayer book given to me by Poor Clares (!) that includes a prayer to Our Lady of the Rosary. One of the lines says "you appeared in Lourdes and Medjugorje..."

What's even more disturbing to me is how many priests flat out won't condemn Medj. now. Even a lion like Fr. Corapi simply stated that he only talks about approved apparions---- not endorsing but not openly, clearly saying that the whole thing is a hoax either. Ask your parish priest what he thinks of Medj. and you'll probably get either entusiasm or a wishy washy avoidance.

By letting this thing go on so long the Church allowed it become "normal." and that was a horrible disservice to Jesus' lambs.

tuesday night thoughts

In the wake of the whole Don Imus thing many people argued in this defense that he didn't say anything that isn't said repeatedly in rap music. This got me to thinking about why rap is so misogynistic.

I personally think it is an infantile form of protest. America has been feminized to the point where men will stand still and shamefacedly ignore a woman being beaten right in front of them. The average black male under the age of 30 was raised by a single mother. Most black pregnancies are out of wedlock. Most black women will never marry. So they raise sons who listen to them complain about black men and who watch them play the dating game with all that entails.

Can you imagine knowing that your shoes, your winter coat, your rent is all being paid by your mom's various boyfriends? That's a common lower class black arrangement. Imagine waking up and finding a strange man eating in your kitchen on Saturday morning. Is this your new "uncle" or is he just some guy who will not be around for lunch? Imagine being smacked around by your mom's current man for no particular reason. These are also all too common scenarios.

Motherhood is sacred in the black community. It is beyond taboo to criticize your mama and making fun of someone else's can get you shot and yet, imagine the anger all these young boys must feel. They can't speak against mama---- besides they love her but they can spew that rage onto black women in general. Consider how many rappers come from lousy homes. Song after song talks about drug addicted or drug selling mothers, absent fathers, poverty, bitterness and shame. You can't have a whole segment of the population living like that and not expect it to spill out into the wider culture especially when it comes in form that has a good dance beat.

Oh my God

33 dead at Virginia Tech. College life being what it is; how many of them were prepared to enter Eternity? May God have mercy on their souls and may He send comfort and peace to their families.

A visit to St. Philips

One of Rocky and my hobbies to try to visit every single church in our diocese. Yesterday we made a holy hour at St. Philips in Falls Church, Virginia. The actual church seems to be under renovation so Masses are held in the school cafeteria and in the chapel. We sat with the Blessed Sacrament and were impressed at how hard somebody must have worked to turn a classroom into a santuary. They did a good job. On the down side, the Neocatechumical Way is huge at this parish so I don't think we'll ever attend Mass there.

I just bought this

I like to keep a small notebook in my purse for grocery lists, sins to confess, phone numbers, project plans, ect. I just bought this one and it's adorable. Plus, since I have about ten mantillas in my collection it made me laugh. You can order one here.

saturday thoughts

• I'm so proud. My blog site is blocked in China!
  
  
  
• I saw this on The Lair of the Catholic Cavemen. If Italian Catholics are so ignorant of their Faith when the Vatican is right in their midst what does that say about the state of catechesis. I keep hearing that the New Springtime is right around the corner (along with the freeing of the Tridentine Mass) but so far things look pretty darn frosty to me.
  
  
  
• Getting back to my concerns about my darling mother I just read this on Lair of Catholic Cavemen which brings up what VatII had to say about salvation outside the Church.

something I've been brooding about

My mother is a Baptist. She thinks it's great that Rocky and I are Catholic, she's always happy to go to Mass with us, she's been through RCIA but she won't convert. I think she feels it would be something of a betrayal to her parents memories.

I've spoken to four priests about Mama. One, the youngest, clearly didnt' want to distress me but clearly didn't want to say "don't worry about it". The others --one an old priest, the others were in their early 30s--- all told me not to be concerned. The church, they told me has taught since the 40s that Mama is part of the Holy Catholic Church because she is a Christian. She does not know this and obviously doesn't have the fullness of the Faith but what she does have is enough to get her to Heaven. I want to believe this but didn't Pope Leo (I forget which one) say that heretics shall not enter Heaven? I'm going to keep praying that if it is necessary for her salvation that Mama converts one day.

Exultet from Easter Vigil

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!

Exult, all creation around God's throne!

Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!

Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,radiant in the brightness of your King!

Christ has conquered!

Glory fills you!Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church!

Exult in glory!

The risen Savior shines upon you!

Let this place resound with joy,echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends,standing with me in this holy light,join me in asking God for mercy,that he may give his unworthy minister grace to sing his Easter praises.

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night when first you saved our fathers :you freed the people of Israel from their slaveryand led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is night when Christians everywhere,washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement, are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us, had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!

How boundless your merciful love!

To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault,O necessary sin of Adam,which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights, chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:"The night will be as clear as day:it will become my light, my joy."The power of this holy night dispels all evil,washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,brings mourners joy;it casts out hatred, brings us peace,and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earthand man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father, in the joy of this night, receive our evening sacrifice of praise, your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle, a flame divided but undimmed, a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God. Let it mingle with the lights of heaven and continue bravely burning to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets find this flame still burning: Christ, that Morning Star, who came back from the dead, and shed his peaceful light on all mankind, your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen.

Mass of the Lord's Supper.

We went to Holy Thursday Mass last night and it was beautiful. Fr. Théoden gave a long and soul stirring homily. He is a very kind and saintly man and is a wonderful confessor. All of the altar boys served from the A team down to the newest recruit. The boys' did very well and must have practiced hard to get everything right.

Fr. Théoden washed the feet of twelve altar boys, (I hope they all washed first, cause few things are stronger on earth than the odor from a teenaged boy's feet) and after Mass young Fr. Aragon carried the Lord in a procession around the church. The altar was stripped of all decoration including candles, nothing remained except the flowers and candles at the Altar of Repose. We sat there until around ten PM remembering that terrible night when Our Lord sweated blood in the olive garden and suffered unspeakable mental anguish for our sins.

I suddenly had a glimpse of how totally and wildly God loves us. Wonderful, astonishing, incredible love for me and for you.

What Wondrous Love is This?

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!What wondrous love is this, O my soul!

What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of blissTo bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,

When I was sinking down, sinking down,

When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,

Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,

Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.

To God and to the Lamb Who is the great “I Am”;

While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;

While millions join the theme, I will sing.
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be;

And through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;

And through eternity, I’ll sing on.

Chrism Mass and other thoughts.....

Chrism Mass

Rocky and I went to the Chrism Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral in DC. It was glorious. Archbishop Wuerl was there and I was startled by his appearacnce. He looked like a piece of chewed on leather. Has he not been well lately? Cardinal McCarrick is a couple of decades older than him and looked just as pink cheeked and perky as a youngster. The music was magnificent. The Cathedral's schola choir is always impressive.

There must have been over 100 priests in attendance and it was beautiful to see them. There were old priests, grown grizzled and gray in the service of the Lord, one was so frail that he had to be led. There were tall priests, short priests, thin ones and one so fat and jolly looking that he reminded me of the Pillsbury Doughboy. There were Benedictines, Franciscans and Domincan priests and priests from other orders I couldn't identify. There were young priests and many, many young seminarians.

These young men were a special delight. Many of them wore cassocks and all seemed excited to be there. I saw the Missionaries of Charity nuns, the Virgin of Mattara Sisters and a few Dominicans and Franciscan nuns as well. After Mass the mood was a joyful one. It was like a class reunion.

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I just had a thought. Let's say that the Tridentine Mass really is going to be set free. Will my bishop obey? Will yours? Will the average Catholic finally be able to go to a nearby parish (if not his own) and attend the Tridentine Mass? I predict that many of our US Bishops will simply ignore anything from Rome.

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The great horror is almost upon us. Ladies, the quest for a swimsuit that looks modest and cute and in no way resembles a flour sack begins again for another Summer. So far as much as I respect what these people are trying to do I found a number of suits that would make me ill if I had to put them on. For example this one is well.... HIDEOUS.

I found it at Wholesome Wear.

Then there's this one which is sweet but impractical.

I didn't mind this one but it comes in such revolting patterns.

Finally, there's the suits at this site which are cute for little girls but would look silly on me.

I'll probably buy something from LL Bean or the Esther Williams collection. The Esther Williams suits are retro so I'll be decently covered but none of her things make you look like something so lumpish and ugly that you should be covered up for the safety of the public.

Palm Sunday

I was exhausted this Palm Sunday but it was a beautiful Mass. Fr. Aragon was the celebrant and his homily was so amazing that I really wish I could've typed as he spoke. He spoke on Peter and how his fall came about. I'm paraphrasing but it went something like this :

First, Peter followed Jesus at a distance when He was arrested. How many times do we follow Our Lord from a distance? We love Him, or at least we say we do and yet, when someone cracks a flithy joke about the church or says something ignorant about the Blessed Virgin we remain silent lest the person think we're "too religious" or just not sophisticated. How many times do we bite our tounges when our fornicating relatives come to visit bringing their current lovers with them?

Second, Peter stumbled into temptation by looking for comfort. He sat down to warm himself by the fire in the courtyard of the high priest. The people sitting around the fire were servants of the Temple or the high priest. They were in the service of the people who were going to kill Jesus. This was the last place Peter should've been. How many times do we choose comfort instead of Jesus? Do we stay in bed on cold Winter mornings with the intention of confessing our sin later? Do we pour ourselves into provocative clothes because they'll fashionable and we want the pleasure of looking like all the other women we know? How many times have we partied with people we know are antiChristian becuase they are great company, throw the best parties and amuse us to no end?

Third, when being associated with Jesus seemed dangerous Peter denied Him. We deny Our Lord each time we sin.

If we're honest , we know that we are all no better than Peter was on Good Friday but if we figh the good fight we can be like Peter was when he recovered himself. He turned, he repented, he took shelter in Our Lord's blood and wounds and became the leader of the apostles and the church.