Bishop Williamson again

The bishop has left Argentina and landed in England. The English press has not been kind but what else would one expect? There is some talk that Bishop Williamson is planning to give a conference/talk for traditionalist Catholics. I hope this is just a rumor but I'm starting to wonder if the bishop isn't on board with the reunion thing and is deliberately causing trouble.

Papa's looking good

Fr. Gollum reminds me of the pope. There is no physical resemblence but Fr. G. almost visibly shines with goodness. His eyes are the eyes of an innocent kid and he'll probably be like that in 50 years. The pope is 81 but his eyes look the same as when he was a fresh faced innocent minor seminarian. It's extraordinary really.

In the St. Alphonsus Ligouri's stations of the cross the saint talks about how the soul which was once beautiful becomes hideously disfigured by sin. On the other hand there are souls that despite everything keep on glowing bright and beautiful.

a blessed lent to you

I love Ash Wednesday. It's wonderful after Mass to suddenly realize who's Catholic, especially when it's a person who I never even suspected to be remotely Christian. I'm also interested in the reactions I get. I went to the 8 AM Mass at St. Matthews, (young Fr. Frodo gives an excellent homily and has a lovely singing voice) and then went to work.

A couple of co-workers launched into some mildly offensive Catholic jokes. I wasn't upset I just wondered if their lives were so wicked that the mere sight of ashes on my forehead was enough to turn them into min Bill Mahers.

please say a prayer

Please pray for my mother in law. Big Mama is going through a bout of lousy health right now and please prayer for blogger, Carrie Tomko. She's just been given devastating news. There have been many times when I've read Carrie's blog and went "Oh for God's sake, Carrie, how can you say such things!," but that doesn't matter now. A sister in Christ is suffering.


St. Benedict and St. Peregrine, be with them.

I went to a bar to see a married priest

This week Rocky and I went to the DC Theology on Tap night. It was held at James Hoban's Irish restaurant and the speaker was a married priest. I enjoyed my bangers and mash (a soft, very mild sausage with mashed potatoes made with beer) and my iced tea. Rocky had a burger and fries. The service was quick and efficient but management demanded a credit card before our meals arrived. I suspect they've been stiffed by large dinning groups before but I really didn't like having our card in the waitress's pocket all evening.

Fr. Scott Hurd seems like a very nice man and is an amusing speaker but the whole talk made me feel as if I'd rolled in kudzu--just a little bit uncomfortable. He was an Episcopalian priest (hence the wife and kids) and converted after a few years of pastoring a small church in Texas. It was not deemed necessary for him to attend a Catholic seminary after his Episcopalian training. There are a handful of married priests in the DC diocese and we may get a few more in coming years.

Fr. Scott's story of the long and winding road that led him to the Church is interesting and he is in a unique situation but I don't see it as an answer to the vocations crisis. A married priest can not give his full attention to the vocation, something that Fr. Scott was gracious enough to acknowledge. As St. Paul said, a married man must be concerned with the world and pleasing his wife. If he fails in this, there will be trouble. That trouble could spill over into parish life.

A large subclass of married priests is a can of worms that we don't need to open. I guarantee you that one day some married priest will get a divorce, fall in love with another woman and will demand the "right" to marry again. More likely than not a group of lay fools will rally behind him.

As I said before, Fr. Scott struck me as being a very nice gentleman and I'm not picking at him---God bless him and keep him, his wife, and the little ones too, but I find myself very, very wary.

the mouth that roared leads to a hand that is slapped

Archbishop Williamson's big mouth has led to Argentina ordering him out of the country. He had a right to say a foolish thing and everybody else has a right to react. I just hope he doesn't end up in the US or the Vatican.

sometimes you just want to open up a can of whup ass

God bless the lone priest in deepest darkest dreary San Francisco who spoke up about these blasphemous candles.

St. Bede's and Bruton Parish Church

Last week this time Rod and I were in Williamsburg. We went to St. Bede's for Mass and it's a puzzling place. When we first arrived I was struck by how odd it looks. They have a large lobby with a sofa and chairs and tables. It's tasteful but reminded me of the visitor center at the Mormon temple in Maryland. The sacristy, parish office, parochial vicar and pastor's offices are just off the main lobby. We walked around a bit and then went into the actual church. It's one of those church in the round designs from the '70s and the decor is very plain. White walls and no stained glass. They have a large crucifix that makes Jesus look like a short body builder and a disturbing statue of Mary and baby Jesus. For some reason Mary has a weirdly thick neck, huge hands and a honker of a nose and baby Jesus looks deformed. There must be a reason for that or maybe the artist came cheap.

The Blessed Sacrament is kept in a separate chapel. Few people visited while we were there and even fewer genuflected as they passed by.

Before Mass the cantor came out and made us all practice the alleluliah. Either she does this all the time or the singing was really off the week before. A couple of times Rocky asked me if I wanted to go. There's a Catholic church in Yorktown and if we really hurried we could've made it. I decided not to risk it so we stayed. I'm glad we did becuase the priest said a completely non-wonky Mass and gave a sterling homily. He seems like a good guy but it looks like he has a lot of work to do with taming his parish. There must have been about 40 eucharistic ministers. When they were standing around the priest all I could see was a glimpse of green.

St. Bede's gets a lot of tourists so no-one stares at strangers and nobody seemed freaked out by the sight of black people, which is always a plus. That and the brave young parochial vicar are the best things I can say about it. Next time we're in Williamsburg I think we'll go to the Catholic chapel at William and Mary Univeristy or to either of the churches in New Kent or Yorktown.

The next day Rod and I were in the historic area of Williamsburg and visited Bruton church. George Washington and Jefferson went to church there among other notables. It's a beautiful old church. The sad thing, and I do mean sad was that this Episcopalian church looked more Catholic than St. Bede's.

a baby is dead

You've probably read about the Florida so-called "botched" abortion story. An 18 year old went to the abortion abattoir to have her unborn baby killed. Instead she had a live birth and a worker at the clinic put the baby the trash and left her to die. The police are involved now. The doctor's license to kill has been revoked. The natural mother is suing the doctor and the clinic. I hope she doesn't get a dime.

When I read stories like this I'm not shocked anymore. Horrors occur in abortion clinics every day. That's the point. A baby is murdered horribly, a doctor makes money and the mother goes home and tries to forget the "mistake". What the hell happened to America? We are no better than the worshipers of Moloch or the Germans of WWII who knew doggone well what was happening to the Jews but shrugged their shoulders and muttered that there was nothing they could do and perhaps it was for the best anyway.

birthday weekend

For my birthday Rocky and I went to Williamsburg. We stayed in a lovely B&B in Charles City, VA. It's called Orange Hill and we liked it so much I'm gooing back next year. I am now the same age my father was when he passed away. That feels strange, first because I never thought I'd live this long. Probably becasue of the shock of my father's passing ( I was a shy sensitive girl before he died but after he died I was a shy, sensitive, horribly anxious and depressed girl) and probably because his oldest sister died in her 20s, his youngest sister almost died at 30 , his middle sister has been suffering for years and his niece died at 13.


There's a scene in the movie Camille where the hero shows her a painting of his mother and tells her that his parents have been married for 30 years. Camille sighs and says no-one will love her in 30 years because she couldn't live that long anyway. I felt that scene intensely.

I feel a new closeness to my father, an understanding. He was my dad of course but now I have a glimpse into what may have been on his mind that last year. We're both 42. Amazing. Simply amazing.


Eternal rest grant unto him, oh Lord, my God. Let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace.

sad

Amy Welborn's husband died. They were the parents of two very small boys.

Oh man thou knowest not the day, nor the hour..........

things i'm tired of hearing about

1. Fr. Marciel's sex life. Apparently he liked snails AND oysters. There's a fine line between commenting on news and thoroughly enjoying gossip. Some bloggers have clearly crossed it.
   
   
2. C.S. Lewis quotes in homiles. He wasn't Catholic.
   
   
3. Hurricaine Katrina. Right now thousand of Kentuckians are suffering in the cold and the MSM doesn' seem to give a hoot.
   
   

a vast messy family

My family reunion is going to be in July in Charleston this year. My people are a colorful lot. Some are brilliant, some aren't. Some are rich and others are just barely hanging on right now. One cousin and her husband were both laid off from their jobs. Please pray for them. Some are AME Zion, Baptist (several different varities) and some haven't been to church since the last family funeral. We have had a little more than our share of tragedy but there are a ton of funny family stories too. We are like a big net full of fish.

The Church is like that too. We have Sr. Joan Chisseter, we have that priest who jumps naked over campfires; in my diocese we had a priest who's hobby was exposing himself in parks. He's gone now, I don't know if he's even still Catholic but until his last escapade went public he was a priest in good standing. We had a priest in Virginia who had a wife and kids hidden one county over from his parish. He was apparently dipping into the parish money too. We have a bishop who is under Federal investigation, we've had bishops leave their posts in disgrace. We have bishops who smile benignly while dancing girls gyrate in gauze and leotards before the Blessed Sacrament. We have nuns who think it's more important to be social workers than adore the Lord, we have heretics in all but name teaching kids CCD. We have meddlesome busybodies who interfere with everything their priest tries to do.

On the otherhand we also have all the saints, in heaven, unknown on earth and in Purgatory.

The big net of the Church has fish like St. Joan of Arc and monsters like Gilles de Rais. The net is big enough to hold the whole world so I guess it's big enough to hold the SSPX and the Anglo Catholics too.

Happy Superbowl Sunday. I'm off to have an appletini.

that superbowl ad

A number of bloggers are upset because NBC rejected the pro-life Superbowl ad. I'm not. I've seen the ad and I honestly can't say that it impressed me. It uses the Beethoven argument:Don't abort that baby, he might grow up to become something great. Yes, your husband ran like a bandit, and yes you've had to dump your kid on your parents to raise but hey, he might grow up to be president. Um no. 99% of the babies born today won't be another Beethoven and they won't be president. They'll have an IQ of somewhere between 85 and 100 and be plain ole average if they're lucky.

How about don't abort that kid becuase he's a human being and thou shalt not murder an innocent. And while you're at it dear, do the second great thing you can do for your child after sparing his life; give him a chance to be happy and sane. Put him up for adoption.

love and marriage and the bright young things

On Dawn Eden's blog there's a discussion about love and marriage. As I read the comments I was inclined to wonder if any of these earnest youngsters have ever loved deeply or if any of them is married. Besides Holy Orders, marriage is one of the greatest adventures a human being could ever go on. You take two people with all their warts, quirks and sins and God willing, they become a functioning unit. It's amazing.

I've heard many people talk about how hard marriage is. I've never found it so, mainly because Rocky is a good guy. When he and I went to St. Ignatius and knelt before Fr. Werner (RIP) and heard him say the vows and we repeated them I knew this was forever.

When there is no other option you adapt, improvise and overcome obstacles on the road you're traveling. You realize that he's a big guy and expecting him to live with the dollhouse furniture you had when you were single is silly. So you buy a recliner and a big ugly sofa.

You learn that okay, so he leaves his socks everywhere-- he's not a selfish pig, he's just forgetful and you get over it. Pick the damn socks up, go on strike until he picks them up (warning: men can wait a long, long time) or spray a lot of air freshener until he gets the hint.

He learns that women need stuff. Your goose collection or that pink crystal chicken shaped candy dish is important to you so he lives with them. Besides the candy is good and it's kinda nice that it's in a dish instead of hidden in the sofa cushions. He not only puts up with your doll collection he goes down to the basement and builds you a doll case.

You learn that while your old lifestyle may've been fun and your family are what they are, the most important thing in the world after God is your husband and if those other things harm your marriage they have to be ruthlesslessly dealt with. And if you're a grown woman you do it.

He discovers much to his delight and amazement that he'd rather watch TV with you than go dirt bike racing every weekend with his single friends. You discover that you really never wanted to go to Paris and eat snails and fish eyes with Jeanne Claude. Meatloaf with your husband is far better. You both grow up like two trees that have wrapped around each other and are stronger together than you ever would've been apart.

The bright young things on Dawn Eden wonder if romantic love is even needed for a successful marriage. No, its not. And if you are a working class or poor girl who is lucky enough to have a choice between a good, kind man who loves you and has a job or a smokin' hot guy who's living the thug life you'd better run as fast as you can to the nice guy. Run!

I know a man who no longer feels passion for his difficult wife but stays because he made a promise. In hindsight they weren't suited to one another and should not have married in the first place. He's never going to look at his wife the way he used to but she's the mother of his kids, the queen of his house and the center of the pretty decent life he has. They are not Brad and Angie. The husband is no saint--yet but I think Sts. Monica, Rita, and Blessed Elizabeth LeSeur would understand him and are on his side. Not bad company at all.

But romantic love is not to be totally scorned as the kids in the Dawn Eden post seem to be doing. To feel like steel wool touched to a battery about your own dear spouse and have it be blessed by God is a lovely gift.

SSPX Bishop Williamson drops a turd in the punchbowl

The Holy Father has lifted the SSPX excommunications. He's held his hand out in loving compassion. Now the SSPX has to respond. One of the first things they have to do is make a decision: Do they want to remain sitting on a hill watching the battle or do they want to provide reinforcements? Part of that decision is figuring out what to do about Bishop Williamson.


Bishop Richard Williamson, who I swear does more to turn people off from the traditionalist movement than anybody I can think of, has done it again. He gave an interview for Swedish TV back in November and apparently denied that any Jews died in gas chambers during the Holocaust.

Well now. Bishop Williamson has a right to his bizarre opinions but let us remember that some opinions are like jock itch. You have may have it but nobody really wants to hear about it. This interview is just like the old high school prank of going to the prom and sneaking a turd into the punchbowl.

Bishop Williamson's opinions make all of the priests and laity of the SSPX look bad. I'm afraid that the media, which is how most people get their information will use Williamson's interview to paint an ugly picture of everyone who loves the TLM.

If Bishop Fellay and the other leaders of SSPX are serious about normalizing their status within the Church they need to suggest that Bishop Williamson get a new pet subject to talk about in public. Something safe like beekeeping. Or better yet, how about getting him to retire?



UPDATE
Well, it's not a retirement but Bishop Fellay has rebuked Bishop Williamson and somebody got Williamson to write an apology letter.

Dedicated to all those who fight the good fight

Hold your grandmother's bible to your breast

Gonna put it to the test

You wanted it to be blessed

And in your heart

You know it to be true

You know what you gotta do

They all depend on you

And you already know

Yet you already know

How this will end

There is no escape

From the slave catcher's songs

For all of the loved ones gone

Forever's not so long

And in your soul

They poked a million holes

But you never let them show

Come on its time to go

And you already know

Yet you already know

How this will end

Now you've seen His face

And you know that there's a place in the sun

For all that you've done

For you and your children

No longer shall you need

You always wanted to believe

Just ask and you'll receive

Beyond your wildest dreams

And you already know

Yet you already know

How this will end

You already know (You already know)

You already know (You already know)

You already knowHow this will end

How it Ends... by Devotchka

When Jesus Came to Birmingham

When Jesus came to Golgotha, they hanged Him on a tree,
They drove great nails through hands and feet, and made a Calvary;
They crowned Him with a crown of thorns, red were His wounds and deep,
For those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap.
When Jesus came to Birmingham, they simply passed Him by.
They would not hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die;
For men had grown more tender, and they would not give Him pain,
They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.
Still Jesus cried, 'Forgive them, for they know not what they do, '
And still it rained the winter rain that drenched Him through and through;
The crowds went home and left the streets without a soul to see,
And Jesus crouched against a wall, and cried for Calvary.

G. A. Studdert-Kennedy

the old town's gone crazy

The big boys at my firm decided at the last minute to give us all the day off for the ignaugural. Thank God! I was not looking forward to struggling to get to work on a train jammed full of tourists. I intend to spend the day in bed with a book. DC is very, very strange right now. I've never seen such wild adoration before for any president. Obama's posters are everywhere. I'm not just talking about the vendors selling shirts. There are Obama window displays in the better clothing and jewelry stores up and down Connecticut Ave to Georgetown. One of my favorite stores has a huge glass sculpture of Obama in the window. It's all too Dear Leaderish for my liking.

Inspectors can be fooled

The Vatican has released a report on American seminaries that says they are generally healthy. I would be happy about this if I didn't remember Sr. Veronica Marie. Years and years ago when I was in grade school we had a nun who wasn't like the rest. Her hems were shorter than the other nuns. Her veil showed more hair than all the others. She didn't wear her rosary on her belt either. In gym class she wore sweats and and a scowl. Then one day Sr. Veronica Marie showed up at school in her full habit. You know why? Because the Mother Superior of her order was making a visit. The whole time Mother Superior was there Sr. VM was in her habit and looked as pious as my nun dolls. The day after Mother Superior left to check on another school somewhere else Sr. Veronica Marie was back in her old clothes.

The last time I saw her she was a principal at a boy's school which was a good place for her as I'd always gotten the impression that she didn't like girls much. She'd stopped wearing the mini veil altogether and looked more like your cranky old feminist aunt than a nun. I'll never know what Mother Superior thought of her visit but I'm willing to bet that she probably looked at Sr. VM and thought 'Nope, nothing wrong here.'