God bless you, Mr. Ed.

 On the morning of 9/11 I did my usual routine of taking the bus to the Pentagon and then a train to the station that was a few blocks from my office. I got used to seeing people who had the same schedule as I did. My regulars included a middle aged blonde woman who favored grey suits and who looked like she was either a 1950s prison matron or a 1970 pantsuit nun.  She turned out to be quite pleasant and later to my happy surprise, she moved into my building and we see each other on the elevator every now and again. Another regular was an eccentric government employee whose social skills were so horribly lacking that I hoped he'd never take notice of me and a sarcastic bus driver who could've made it as a comedian if she'd had a mind to do it. And then there was Mr. Ed. That wasn't his name of course. It's just the nickname I gave him. He was a few months or weeks away from retirement. He and his wife were going to leave Northern Virginia and return to his native Mississippi where he'd already bought land and built a house. Mr. Ed was cheerful, energetic, and his face just lit up when he talked about going home. We didn't do any deep talk, it was a bus ride after all but we chatted about the weather and other things one talks about while commuting and he never failed to wish me a good day as he headed into the Pentagon and I continued on to my train. 

After 9/11 I never saw him again. I hope it's because everyone's schedules were  changed after the attack. The Washington Post published photos and names of people who perished at the Pentagon but I didn't have the heart to look for him. I hope he was not one of the 2,974 victims and made it back to Mississippi and lived happily ever after. He was a nice man going about his business.  God bless you Mr. Ed and Mrs Ed too, wherever you are. 

Rest in Peace, dear heroine.

Before my surgery I thought very much of the late Geska Lima.  The way she conducted herself through her battle with ovarian cancer impressed me deeply. She wrote the following not long before her death. I never forgot it.  Her dignity, courage and her devotion to Our Lord all shone as an example of how to behave in the face of pain and fear.  May she rest in peace. 

I'm going back to work on Monday, thank God, but I wont' forget Mrs. Lima. 

The cancer pavilion is a cruel democracy: the same bald heads, the same devastated complexions, the same steroid-swollen faces. The old seem infantile, the young look senile. There's no race or color, everyone is equal in suffering and "All Lives Matter". pic.twitter.com/8EFsjR8Kjz

— Geska Lima (@Geskalima) June 7, 2020

The Catholic Biblical Association situation isn't getting any better.

 Well, we  have answer. To my knowledge, Cardinal McElroy hasn't said anything about Amy Jill Levine being elected as head of the Catholica Biblical Association but the USCCB has spoken. Watch and listen, and study very carefully what you hear at  Mass, OCIA, and your child's religious education materials. Unless your bishop says otherwise, he's going along with the group and  approves of efforts to fiddle with the New Testament. I pray that the USCCBB is dismantled before we ever get a highly edited version of the Passion of Our Lord read out on Good Friday.  God help us!

A word to the wise

 To every young man who was horrified to discover  that his girlfriend sees child-killer, Lindsay Clancy as some kind of heroine  you can thank God because He has given you a great gift. The Lord has sent you a message that couldn't be any more clear than if He'd sent a prophet to yell in your face. 

Drop that girl. Yes, sure she's beautiful and charming and the world seems almost gray when she's not by your side but she's not a moral or possibly even stable person.  Run for your life and maybe for your future children's lives. 

This could be cleared up in a few minutes. Caridnal McElroy do your job

 The Catholic Biblical Association just announced that its new president is Amy-Jill Levine. Although she doesn't say so in her CBA biography, it is widely reported that  she's not Catholic and is actually Jewish.  Levine has proposed removing the reading St. John's Passion from the lectionary. That is very, very bad.  People are scandalized. I've read comments expressing fear that this appointment will lead to a Catholic version of the Scofield Bible. That's not a completely invalid fear. The association was instrumental in the revision of the Challoner-Rheims New Testament in 1936. I can't find anything stating that they are working on a new bible  translation but according to Google the CBA did partner " with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to perform a comprehensive new translation and revision of the NAB New Testament for unified use in liturgy, study, and private prayer," between 2013-2025. 

The 90 year old organization is not run by the Vatican or the Washington DC diocese. It's a private entity that calls itself Catholic and publishes scholarship but Pope Leo didn't personally appoint this woman and the people who are now screaming that he did may be making a mistake in that they look foolish by not having all the facts straight. 

Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy has only to make a statement on the diocesan website  that the CBA is not a church run organization. It's been done before. In 2011, the  Archdiocese of Detroit announced that  Michael Voris's  media outlet could not use the word "Catholic" in its name. Voris responded by changing the name from Real Catholic TV to Church Militant. A bishop is supposed to make things clear for the Faithful and making statements clarifying that a particular group, school, business or apparition site isn't part of the diocese does just that.  By saying nothing about this matter, people can  only infer that the cardinal  is fine with whatever comes out of the CBA under this woman's tenure. 

The CBA is influential and still has that close relationship with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that needs to examined and explained. It's probable that the homilies you've heard over the decades and the bible your kids study in school came about as a result of the organization's work so you might need to check the material you've received from OCRIA and your children's catechetical material and calmly as your pastor a few questions.  

He saved me

 Last week I had surgery to remove a tumor. It was very large and through the grace of God, it was benign. Due to the size, if it hadn't been benign I almost certainly would've been toast.  When my surgeon told me that I am in the clear I almost couldn't speak because of the absolute shock wave of relief.  Our Lady Health of the Sick, thank you! Dear Saints Peregrine, Bernadette and Therese thank you.  I feel like Jonah when the whale spat him back onto land.

 

The Rupnik scandal just keeps on festering

 My late Father-in-law, Big Daddy used to say, "Everybody pisses in the pool but you/he had to do it from the diving board." He was using a metaphor for someone making an extraordinary faux pas or for when someone got caught sinning publicly.  I've been seeing these tentative reports that Fr. Marko Rupnik is going   free from the many accusations against him.  So far the  Vatican denies that he's been acquitted but it's not looking good. If Rupnik is acquitted or gets the Vatican version of the old Scottish verdict of "not proven" and remains a priest in good standing, the effect will be devastating. All the people who have been watching him up on the diving board for years will be left sick to the heart and that just might drive some them out of Our Lord's Church.