Home alone is a dangerous practice

Some people say that if you have a heretic for a priest and your parish is just poison and you have no other parish near you then you are justified in staying home and just reading the Mass in your missal.   The temptation is strong for many people to say,"Nuts to this. I'd do better worship to the Lord at home," or the more tragic, "This parish is killing me but I can't go anywhere else so I'm staying home."

 I sympathize and I'm thankful that I've never been in that position. My geographic parish was weird but Rocky and I were to join another parish a few miles down the road. Thank you, Lord. Now that Rocky's work schedule has changed we go to another parish that is also very good. I know many people in different parts of Virginia and the country can't do this and they have to suffer through bad Masses or move. I  read comments from people who have gone the home alone route and they all seem came off as unhinged, (understandable-- faithful Catholics have been gas-lighted   by heretical clergy and the lay professional Catholics for decades), and distrustful of everyone. I've been dismayed by comments from home aloners who finally do get a chance go to a traditional Mass and find fault with everything-- the priest's hair wasn't neat enough, a woman had on short sleeves, the conversation over doughnuts and coffee after Mass was wordly and they conclude that staying home alone is better. This is a dangerous practice. You run the risk of turning into your own pope. You run the risk of turning into an irascible hermit and you might go down the road to being so  so personally  repulsive that anyone who meets you decides to never go to a traditional Mass. And of course, you're running the risk of going to Hell.

Saint Archbishop Sheen? Not So Fast, Please.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen's cause for canonization is underway and he is now a Venerable. Will he be canonized? Probably. Unlike  Paul VI or John XXIII there are actually many people who have been devoted to him for decades and who have been calling for canonization.  Should he be canonized? I'm not sure. When I was younger I would've said "yes," but after re-reading Sheen's works and accounts of his life I'm leaning towards "no." Does this shock you? I loved watching re-runs of archbishop Sheen's show and I was deeply moved by The World's First Love and his Life of Christ.  His 1967, book, however Footprints In A Darkened Forrest was a clunker. I first put it down to age and illness and maybe shell-shock from  his fight with Cardinal Spellman but his enthusiasm for  Fr. Teilhard de Chardin is disturbing:

  “It is very likely that within 50 years when all the trivial, verbose disputes about the meaning of Teilhard's ‘unfortunate’ vocabulary will have died away or have taken a secondary place, Teilhard will appear like John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila, as the spiritual genius of the twentieth century.” 

Archbishop Sheen thought that a man like Teilhard de Chardin was a saint. Teilhard either was taken for a fool or participated in one of the greatest scientific hoaxes in history.   He also spent more time digging up bones and talking about secular and occult matters rather than conferring the sacraments.  Archbishop Sheen's was taken in by this man and also thought that Gandhi was a saint. Well, Mrs. Gandhi, their sons and some of his nieces would probably beg to differ.  It doesn't affect his personal holines but it says something about the dear archbishop's discernment.

Now,to be fair, I have to point out that a saint can make a mistake.  The Church does not say that a saint has to be 100%  correct about things that are not essential to the Faith from soup to nuts. St. John Bosco veered into papalotry on occasion in his letters. St. Vincent Ferer thought  that an antipope was the real pope for a time. Canonization requires martyrdom and/or heroic virtue.   

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen was great in the film studio and was a fine writer.  According to the FBI, his personal habits were beyond reproach. That does not automatically make him worthy of canonization. The canonization process has been cheapened and it's an embarrassment to the Church. St. Josemaria Escriva and Pope St. Paul VI both had highly questionable pasts and are now canonized. This is a scandal to many people and enemies of the Church smirk over the stories of Paul VI's sex life.   Pope Francis is going to do as he pleases but the Church really needs to pull back and return to the intense rigorous process of canonization that we once had. 

Everyone in Heaven is a saint. Most saints have not been canonized. Their lives were hidden in the mists of antiquity or their heroism was known only to God or they did not have enough people working on their cause. Not every saint needs to be canonized. Allowing Fulton Sheen to remain a Venerable for a time or forever is no insult to him. St. Romuald, founder of the Camaldolese order waited over 500 years to be canonized. St. Martin de Pores died in 1639, and was not even beatified until 1837. St. John Fisher was martyred in 1535. He was not canonized until 1935!  There is no need to rush. There's no need to make a mistake that will blow up in the Church's face later. It has to be noted that there are people still living in Rochester who will tell you that the only thing the archbishop did there was to treat them like lab rats.  

If you don't want to get on the Sheen canonization now bandwagon just yet it doesn't mean you are a bad Catholic.  Look beyond the Archbishop's glamour and ask with honest curiosity and open heart if canonization in this case is really to the glory of Our Lord and the edification of His Church.

Our Lady of Good Help

let the hard rain fall

When then Cardinal McCarrick announced that he was going to retire to Mater Dei seminary I was shocked. Considering all the rumors about him it seemed hubristic and an open jab at anyone who was on to him. I remember wondering if anybody thought how bad it all looked. Now the word is out that Cardinal Wuerl is retiring to the John Paul II seminary.  They just don't care that we know.  It's going to break the hearts of many nice people but as long as the Blanches, Donna's and Queens of the Nile are in charge our only hope is that the Lord sends a hard rain of chastisement.

The Visitation

The Visitation

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON A MONDAY MORNING

Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us





• Louie smells a rat.  I think he's right. 

• If you encounter a person who says, "This is my truth," or "Only God can judge me," or "I want to change the world," you are probably in the presence of a narcissist or a flat out sociopath and are about to be cheated, lied to or worse. Run.

• It is Peter's Pence weekend. Complicit Clergy called for a for a boycott.  How did things go at your parish?

• For some reason every year at the start of Summer there seems to be a discussion in blogland and Twitter about annoying children at Mass. I think it has to do with the parents. At my old parish the parents were mostly upper middle class government employees, lawyers and and other professionals. Their kids did a lot screaming, running, kicking and banging. Our new parish has a mix of working class and middle class people and a racial mix. The kids are well behaved. As much as I loved St. Rita's I have to admit I never saw children act the way they did at the Mass we went to at any other parish we've ever visited.
  
  
• Sunday morning I woke up with a migraine and spent an unremembered amount of time with my hands over my face rocking back and forth. Sunday night I heard bubbling coming from the tub. I stood in the doorway and watched as my upstairs neighbor's toilet paper and waste came up into my tub and mercifully went back down. I wondered perhaps in shock what in all the Hells my neighbor has been eating and called maintenance. I told Rocky not to use the tub in the morning and went to bed. Monday morning at work looks fantastic to me.
  
  
  
• One of Rocky's brother Knights had a brain hemorrhage last night. In your charity please pray for him. 

A PRAYER FOR THE REDEMPTION OF BAD PRIESTS

Divine Savior Jesus Christ, Thou are the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Oh, be in a very special way the Good Shepherd of those poor lost priests who are also appointed by Thee to be leaders of Thy people, but who have broken the oath of their holy ordination and have become unfaithful to their exalted calling. Bestow upon these poorest of the poor the very fullness of that pastoral solicitude with which Thou dost so faithfully seek the sheep that are lost! Touch their hearts with the irresistible ray of grace which emanates from Thine all-merciful love! Enlighten their minds and strengthen their wills, that they may turn away from all sin and error and come back to Thy holy altar and to Thy people. O most compassionate Savior! Remember that Thou didst once redeem the souls of Thine erring priests with Thy Precious Blood and in infinite preferential love didst impress upon them the indelible character of the priesthood. Put wholly to shame those miserable helpers of Satan who lay snares for the virtue of priests and endanger the holy ideal of the priesthood. Most graciously accept our prayers and sacrifices for poor priests who have gone astray and hear our earnest petition.

 Amen 

Imprimatur - Bishop John F. Noll (April 18, 1948)

St. Anthony of Padua, defender of the Holy Eucharist, obtain for us holy priests

St. John-Mary Vianney, model of sacerdotal holiness, obtain for us holy priests

St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionary priests, obtain for us holy priests

St. Therese of the Child-Jesus and of the Holy Face, victim offered for the sanctification of priests, obtain for us holy priests

Saints and Servants of God, obtain for us holy priests.

So how come nobody ever punched Uncle Ted in the nose?

I hesitate to write this because it will probably offend a lot of people but I have simply had enough of the sugar coating that has been going on concerning the latest clergy sex scandals. For years people have been gossiping about Monsignor Rossi, the rector of the Immaculate Conception basilica in DC   and male Catholic University students.  I am not defending Rossi. In fact, I'm horrified. If he made overtures to male students he should be removed as rector of the Basilica, public ministry, and returned to the lay state.  However, he has not been accused of slipping drugs into drinks or running a Turkish prison out of his office. He may have said " How bout it?" or "Do this or I'll make sure you lose your scholarship," but the grown and in the prime of his life  college student couldn't be forced into it.  We treat college students like boys and girls but they are not and if you've ever been in an emergency room  near a university on a weekend night you've probably seen what damage an angry college student can do using nothing but his fists.

In all the years he was preying on seminarians apparently nobody  has claimed to have seen  Theodore McCarrick coming to Mass with a black eye or having to make an emergency dental visit because he claimed to have been in an accident that caused him to lose a few teeth.  I don't think that any seminarian over the age of 18 who engaged in sex acts with that wizened, foul imp can claim legal rape and neither can any male college student who acquiesced to Rossi.  McCarrick and Archbishop Bransfield up in West Virginia are a gruesome twosome but we  obviously have another problem that nobody seems to be talking about.   Why did so many young men, seminarians, lay college students and young priests put up with all this? Is sex for recompense the way to get ahead in certain Catholic circles? Why are some young men golden boys in the clerical and professional lay Catholic ranks and others-- devout, smart, and liked and trusted by men,  relegated to the outer Mongolias of their dioceses?



Update:
For further information about Monsignor Rossi see this post at An Archdiocese of Washington Catholic blog.  I can't be shocked anymore but these things do make me sick.

Mass on a road trip

Rocky's nephew graduated this weekend so we went to Mass at St. Ignatius at Chapel Point.  The parish was founded in 1641 and I think is the oldest continuously used parish in the US.  The parish priest gave a very good homily. He taught what the catechism says about the Holy Trinity and discussed what the Church Fathers have said over the centuries. The parishioners are kind and very tolerant of tourists. Sitting in the old pews I couldn't help but think about all the people who have  walked up this aisle over the centuries. May they rest in peace and may they pray for me.

Adventures in ushering-- the modesty edtion

Some years ago when Rocky was ushering at our old parish he asked a lady and her two daughters if they wanted to take up the unconsecrated Hosts and wine. They agreed. The lady and her family had been parishioners for many years and the family were friendly with the pastor. They had taken the gifts up before without incident. This time,when they got up  everyone could see that the youngest girl who looks to be about 13, was wearing white lace shorts that barely covered her buttocks. Several people complained to Father after Mass.  Later a memo went out to all the ushers to make sure that the people asked to take up the gifts were decently dressed. Rocky was very unhappy that the ushers were expected to do what the parents should be doing and said so. He also pointed out that the girl was wearing a long sweater when he saw her in the pew that covered her to the knees. He had no idea that she'd take the sweater off and he certainly had no idea of what she wearing underneath. The only person at fault was the mother. The people who were upset with Father should have been in her face instead.

It's odd but if you talk to women about modesty they freak out and accuse you of wanting them to look like Afghan women. Nonsense.  God made us to look good to men. He did not make us to look like we are for sale. There is a huge line between see through lace shorts ---which served no legitimate purpose; the church was ice cold and if the girl was that hot she needed to be taken to the hospital---- and wearing a woman hating mobile prison.

A PRAYER FOR THE REDEMPTION OF BAD PRIESTS

Divine Savior Jesus Christ, Thou are the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Oh, be in a very special way the Good Shepherd of those poor lost priests who are also appointed by Thee to be leaders of Thy people, but who have broken the oath of their holy ordination and have become unfaithful to their exalted calling. Bestow upon these poorest of the poor the very fullness of that pastoral solicitude with which Thou dost so faithfully seek the sheep that are lost! Touch their hearts with the irresistible ray of grace which emanates from Thine all-merciful love! Enlighten their minds and strengthen their wills, that they may turn away from all sin and error and come back to Thy holy altar and to Thy people. O most compassionate Savior! Remember that Thou didst once redeem the souls of Thine erring priests with Thy Precious Blood and in infinite preferential love didst impress upon them the indelible character of the priesthood. Put wholly to shame those miserable helpers of Satan who lay snares for the virtue of priests and endanger the holy ideal of the priesthood. Most graciously accept our prayers and sacrifices for poor priests who have gone astray and hear our earnest petition.

 Amen 

Imprimatur - Bishop John F. Noll (April 18, 1948)

St. Anthony of Padua, defender of the Holy Eucharist, obtain for us holy priests

St. John-Mary Vianney, model of sacerdotal holiness, obtain for us holy priests

St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionary priests, obtain for us holy priests

St. Therese of the Child-Jesus and of the Holy Face, victim offered for the sanctification of priests, obtain for us holy priests

Saints and Servants of God, obtain for us holy priests.

What's up with all the soft core porn on Catholic sites?

I used to read a political/cultural blog by a man who raised a lot Hell back in the 60s and 70s but repented . Why did I stop reading him? Because of the porn. He can have a beautiful post about goodness, kindness and the mercy of God and then in the very next post have  a photo of a semi naked woman. Lately even his posts about his prodigal years seem less like St. Augustine's confessions and more like "I know it was bad and I wish I hadn't done it but I sure had fun," semi-boasting.  Another Catholic Tumblr blog that I used to read had breathtakingly beautiful Catholic art but also had gauzy soft core photos and paintings of naked women.

What is the deal with these guys? Are they faking their Faith for kicks or are they trying too hard to show  that while they're devout they aren't girly? If it's the latter isn't anyone worried about this? I've seen many tiresome rants about Catholic men not participating in their parishes but why would they when many men look around see that the parish is only for women, little kids and Father Skippy? Nobody talks about it but it's gotten to the point where men seem to be ashamed of being devout and have to demonstrate in some way, albeit a crude one that they aren't like Fr. Skippy.

Don't make your money from writing or talking about the church

Whenever I meet a young lay person studying theology and complaining about how little they are going to make as a professor I always want to give them a good shake. In  America we are taught to follow our passion when it comes time to get a job but what if your passion simply will not support a family and a wife who is not interested in genteel poverty? I've seen Protestant preacher converts who were too old to start over with a career who glide into being Catholic apologists and I've seen cradle Catholic guys, (its' mostly guys) who have some talent at it, supplement their incomes with writing gigs at  Catholic media outlets. The writing gig can lead to a book and the lucrative speaking circuit and fans who hang on their every thought instead of consulting an actual priest. The trouble with this is the gravy train has to be fueled.

When you have a family and the rent/mortgage/tuition needs to be paid it's pretty hard to take a stand that could take food from your children's mouths or make your spouse very unhappy because the bill collector keeps calling. Dr. Peter Kwasniewski wrote a review on Amazon about Antonio Socci's book. Somebody didn't like it and he revised the review four times and each time was less positive a bout the book.  Pitiful.

The Figueiredo Report

Hospitality workers, secretaries and personal assistant's all  see  the private side of the people they work for and I was reminded of all this when I finished reading the Figueriedo Report.  Monsignor Anthony J. Figueiredo was then Cardinal McCarrick's secretary for many years. The correspondence shown therein shines a harsh light on Cardinal Wuerl's claim that he knew nothing about Cardinal McCarrick being told to get out of the Mater Dei seminary, stop making public appearances, diplomatic travel and turn to silent penance. Benedict's restrictions were weak and Uncle Ted defied them almost immediately but they did exist and were known about.

 

A Prayer against the Enemies of Christ

Eternal Father I offer Thee the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ and all the other instruments of His Holy Passion, that Thou mayest put division in the camp of Thine enemies; for as Thy Beloved Son has said, “A kingdom divided against itself shall fall.”

Well that was interesting and other random thoughts

St. Rita, patroness of impossible causes, pray for us

• I just read an article about my old parish, St. Rita's in 1P5. Normally I don't bother with Steve Skojec's site anymore but I was pleasantly surprised to see St. Rita's. Getting a glimpse of how someone else sees something you care about passionately is an interesting experience.. The author's view of St. Rita's and why things happened was pretty different from mine. He praises Fr. Scalia, who was the parochial vicar, and rightly so because he was pretty awesome (people wept when he announced that he was leaving to be a pastor at another parish), but the author failed to mention Fr. Donohue, the pastor during those years. Everything that Fr. Scalia did was made possible because Fr. Donohue allowed it and he ought to get some credit for that. I even remember Fr. Scalia giving a lecture series for Lent and at one point he said that being a parochial vicar was great because he had Fr. Donahue's backing for all his big ideas.
  
  Also, the number one reason why the music at St. Rita's is so good was not mentioned at all. Mr. Bowie the head of sacred music is not only a fine organist; he's also a very good judge of vocal talent. We never had screeching divas or lounge act tenors at St. Rita's. You had to be be able to sing complicated music. You had to work hard and you had to accept that the Mass is not about the lector and is not a Broadway musical. That was all on Mr. Bowie.The author also left out the reason why St. Rita's is so beautiful. Being in a not so great neighborhood with a  gang problem   heavy gang presence kept the busy bodies out of St. Rita's. So the church retains most of it's architectural beauty and the parish has been largely left alone.
  
  

•  Whenever someone cries poverty in one breath and then talks about their vacation   oh excuse me, pilgrimage to France I always want to laugh. C'mon we all know the plane tickets for the entire family were not free, nor was the hotel or the fabulous food or the trains in Europe. If you can afford to go to Rome and post the photos on your blog er.. lay apostolate, then you aint poor.
  
  
  
  
• I certainly don't want to defend  the odious Cardinal Wuerl but in all fairness there is no way to know if  he saying "I love you" in sign language to a woman in the pew, a man or a group of deaf people. I was not happy  that he was at Archbishop Wilton's installation  but we need to know who he was signing to before assuming that he's talking to a lover in public. 

• Some people are all upset about talk  of Martin Luther King Jr. being an adulterer. Except for the under 30 set, I have to ask, "Where have you people been? Do you not read? Did you grow up in the Twilight Zone?"  Dr. King's best friend the Reverend Ralph Abernathy wrote about the affairs and one night stands in his book''And the Walls Came Tumbling Down'. He wrote that on the last night of his life Dr. King was with two women and got into a shoving fight with a third. Abernathy was called a Judas and was shunned until his death. Georgia Davis Powers   wrote a memoir called I Shared the Dream, years ago. She said that she had a long intense relationship with MLK and was one of the women who was with him on his last night and would have gone with him to the hospital when he was shot had a quick thinking Andrew Young not stopped her. She was not ashamed and justified her behavior as nothing more than what millions of women would have done had they gotten the chance.
  
  The media ignored her book and those of us who read it knew better than to discuss it at work or school.  LBJ used to get a good laugh by playing the FBI tapes of MLK for visitors. JFK, interestingly enough heard them and was saddened. Jackie Kennedy privately told friends that MLK was no saint. It's said that the FBI even sent poor Coretta King a photo of her husband with another woman. In college, professors who did acknowledge that there were other women in Dr. King's life made excuses... he was under constant stress and never knew which day would be his last (true), women were constantly throwing themselves at him (very probably true), the FBI was constantly sending women to try to seduce him (possible) so he fell a couple of times (according to Ralph Abernathy it was more than a couple of times) and he and Coretta were not a love match and she understood that sacrifices had to be made for the greater good, (impossible to confirm as Mrs. King is dead).  None of what you may be reading is new.
  
  I come from a Baptist family. It is common for Baptist preachers to have affairs and as long as  he is discreet it is ignored. Complain and you'll be told, "Touch not, God's anointed," or that it's the pastor's wife's fault because she's not a good First Lady.  A family or two may be upset and leave for another church but nobody cares. A group of families may leave to form another church over it but that's happened so many times before that most churches know how to weather the financial storm until membership stabilizes again. 

Santa Evita? Seriously?

• If Eva Peron's cause for beatification, much less canonization EVER gets opened and taken seriously by the Vatican it will be one of the most ridiculous, indefensible spectacles to ever befall the Church. 

• A number of people are sad about Fr. Jonathan Morris leaving the priesthood because it's too hard and he'd like to get married.  My first reaction was to ask why is the Legionare  order still in existence? As for Fr. Morris personally, I think that he will discover that his girlfriend, if he already has one may have the attributes  that males look for in a mistress  but   those same attributes make for a  poor wife. The girlfriend--if she exists may very well discover one day that if she can pull a priest away from God then there's no reason to think that another woman can't do the same to her.
  
  
• Game of Thrones is finally over and  it was very quiet in my office this morning. I'm so relieved. 

St. John of  Nepomuk, faithful priest and martyr, pray for us. 

Entrappment

I think this California law is going to lead to entrapment. Sooner or later an FBI agent or  cop is going to go into a confessional and lie to a priest and then arrest him for not breaking the seal of the confessional.

Fr. Richards apologized

Fr. Larry Richards has apologized to Church Militant and they have accepted. Now he really needs to do the same for the Stark family.

random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon

• I still look terrible after my dental surgery but at least the black eye is gone. If the swelling hasn't gone completely down by Monday I'll just put on my sunglasses and get on with it.
  
  
  
• Pray for Bishop James Su Zhimin of Baoding. He's been swallowed up and no-one knows if he is living or dead. Does the pope care? Do the Vatican flunkies say this is sad but there's a greater goal that will be reached somewhere down the road and sacrifices have to be made. I suppose that's what Paul VI may have muttered about Cardinal Mindszenty.
  
  
• I was watching a fashion show and suddenly a question popped into my head. What would Western women look like if the fashion industry wasn't dominated by men who have no love for womankind?
  

• Ann Barnhardt called it  about men like this individual over a year ago on one of her podcasts. In a way, being insulted by such a person is a compliment because it means you are not the kind of woman he likes being around: train wrecks. 

• The Mothers Day Mass is tomorrow. Father will ask all the mothers to stand up and receive a round of applause and every mother will get a rose or carnation depending on what's in the flower account. I don't like this. As Pope St. Pius X said, “It is not fitting to applaud the servant in the house of his Master.” 
  
  
  
• Have you noticed that Pope Francis is not inviting migrants to Argentina?

St. Apollonia, pray for me

Apollonia is one of my patron saints and I'm having dental surgery today. My dentist says to take tomorrow off because I'm definitely going to be feeling pretty bad.

0 Glorious Apollonia, patron saint of dentistry and refuge to all those suffering from diseases of the teeth, I consecrate myself to thee, beseeching thee to number me among thy clients. Assist me by your intercession with God in my daily work and intercede with Him to obtain for me a happy death. Pray that my heart like thine may be inflamed with the love of Jesus and Mary, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 0 My God, bring me safe through temptation and strengthen me as thou didst our own patron Apollonia, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mass in Wartime

Lamb of God

Meet the new boss.....same and the old boss

Oh dear. I had a feeling that the new bishop of DC was going to be more of the same. 

a prayer for the redemption of bad priests

Divine Savior Jesus Christ, Thou are the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Oh, be in a very special way the Good Shepherd of those poor lost priests who are also appointed by Thee to be leaders of Thy people, but who have broken the oath of their holy ordination and have become unfaithful to their exalted calling. Bestow upon these poorest of the poor the very fullness of that pastoral solicitude with which Thou dost so faithfully seek the sheep that are lost! Touch their hearts with the irresistible ray of grace which emanates from Thine all-merciful love! Enlighten their minds and strengthen their wills, that they may turn away from all sin and error and come back to Thy holy altar and to Thy people. O most compassionate Savior! Remember that Thou didst once redeem the souls of Thine erring priests with Thy Precious Blood and in infinite preferential love didst impress upon them the indelible character of the priesthood. Put wholly to shame those miserable helpers of Satan who lay snares for the virtue of priests and endanger the holy ideal of the priesthood. Most graciously accept our prayers and sacrifices for poor priests who have gone astray and hear our earnest petition.

 Amen 

Imprimatur - Bishop John F. Noll (April 18, 1948)

St. Anthony of Padua, defender of the Holy Eucharist, obtain for us holy priests

St. John-Mary Vianney, model of sacerdotal holiness, obtain for us holy priests

St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionary priests, obtain for us holy priests

St. Therese of the Child-Jesus and of the Holy Face, victim offered for the sanctification of priests, obtain for us holy priests

Saints and Servants of God, obtain for us holy priests.

Your Peter's Pence Money is Being Used to Meddle in US Affairs

The pope is sending $500,000 to assist the Mexican parishes and charities that are taking care of the Guatemalans,  El Salvadorans, and Hondurans in the caravans who are attempting to flood into the US.  How much, if any  of the Peter's Pence money is being sent to Sri Lanka or to help the Nigerians Catholics has not been reported. I've been  looking at the reactions on Twitter and news forums and you know what?  People wrote that their Faith had been battered in recent years but this was the final straw and they are leaving the Church. Others wrote that they aren't putting anything in the collection basket not only on Peter's Pence day but any day.  I also saw a lot of comments from non Catholics who now see the Church as a force that is actively working against our country. This is very bad. Americans give more to Peter's Pence than any other country and our money is being used to meddle in our affairs and drive a wedge between us and our countrymen. This whole scenario looks like ten miles of bad road to me and it's not going to end well.

random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon

• There is an organization called the Bail Project that pays bond for people who can't come up with the money on their own. On their website they say that they "... pay bail for people in need, reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence." Well, Marcia Johnson didn't want to be reunited with her husband after he struck her back in April. The police were called and he was arrested. His bond was $5000. Marcia certainly had no intention of paying it and apparently nobody who knew her husband wanted to pay it either. The well meaning do-gooders at the Bail Project decided to meddle and as soon as Scott Johnson was released he went home and killed his wife. What do you think went through that poor woman's head when she saw him come through the door? Marcia Johnson was in need and the Bail Project certainly made everything worse for her and her children.The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and I hope that Mrs. Johnson's family sue the Bail Project and the employee/volunteer who thought that bailing out a wife beater was a good idea.  

• Today is the feast of St. Pere de Roquart, who served Our Lord by rescuing slaves from the Muslims. 

• Back in the 70s a young husband and father was taking his parish's bingo money to the bank when he was robbed and murdered. Although his death was a horror and he was a good man who was highly respected by his priest and other parishioners, nobody called him a martyr. Dying on the way to Mass, at Mass or after Mass does not make one a martyr. The Romans, other pagans, Communists and heretics of all kinds said to Christians over the centuries, "Reject Christ and we will leave you alone." They were answered with a refusal. To be a martyr, one must consciously refuse to deny Our Lord and His Faith. 

Easter Vigil

We went to St. Vincent dePaul's in DC for Easter Vigil and it was very sweet. The people are kind.  You never know what you're going to get with the Novus Ordo but the  priest and deacon did nothing outside of the rubrics. The Exultet was sung beautifully and the choir was very good.  It was a joyful night.

Holy Saturday... the King sleeps

"What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son. The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. ‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise. ‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person. ‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden. ‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image. 'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one. `I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you. ‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God. "The cherubim throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages." A reading from an ancient homily for Holy Saturday

Good Friday

I beg pardon and mercy, by the merits of Thy holy wounds, Oh Lord!

King of Kings 1927

In this scene the Last Supper is almost over and a smooth pretty boy Judas slinks out early to betray Our Lord. He runs into Our Lady who is waiting outside the  hall  and Judas is so ashamed he can't even look her in they eye.

Spy Wednesday -- King of Kings 1927

Music for Holy Week

Notre Dame

I'm sitting here watching Notre Dame burn.... when the roof caved in and the spire went down I almost screamed at my desk.

Holy Week begins

My husband's prayer corner with this year's palm

In defense of Pope Benedict

• After Pope Benedict's letter from retirement was published I noticed that there was the same old tiresome crap that happens every time he makes a peep. Some people said the letter was a hoax. Others got mad because it appears to be genuine.  I was reminded of something I wrote last Palm Sunday that still, weirdly enough applies to the situation at hand. I'm posting it again with a few additions.
  
  
  
  All this week I've been reading that Benedict was never the orthodox prelate whom we thought he was and that he's really just Francis with class. That is hyperbole. Joseph Ratzinger was never mean, he was never even crude in private, much less in public and not a single person has come forward to tell a story about how Fr. Ratzinger used to swear and scream when he was unhappy or that he mocked them for being pious.  Although he said some things in his books on the life of Our Lord that raised my eyebrow I don't recall him being openly heretical in his statements. I don't recall ever cringing at his daily reported utterances or wondering if he was non compos mentis. 
  
   Maybe Pope Benedict was just a nice conservative, okay I'll accept that. Church and a social conservatives haven't won a single battle in 50 years but they've tossed off some cute witticisms and I  think deep down the leaders are content with that and many of them dislike the embarrassing Trads more than the out right heretics. Pope Benedict may not have had the courage or ammunition to fight the St. Gallen mafia and it probably would have been better for him if he had refused the papacy to begin with, but I don't think he's sipping on a beer in his apartment thinking, " Francis and I sure fooled those suckers. Hah!" 

Palm Sunday

One of My favorite scenes from King of Kings

Passiontide

St. Vincent Ferrer, pray for us

a prayer for the redemption of bad priests

Divine Savior Jesus Christ, Thou are the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Oh, be in a very special way the Good Shepherd of those poor lost priests who are also appointed by Thee to be leaders of Thy people, but who have broken the oath of their holy ordination and have become unfaithful to their exalted calling. Bestow upon these poorest of the poor the very fullness of that pastoral solicitude with which Thou dost so faithfully seek the sheep that are lost! Touch their hearts with the irresistible ray of grace which emanates from Thine all-merciful love! Enlighten their minds and strengthen their wills, that they may turn away from all sin and error and come back to Thy holy altar and to Thy people. O most compassionate Savior! Remember that Thou didst once redeem the souls of Thine erring priests with Thy Precious Blood and in infinite preferential love didst impress upon them the indelible character of the priesthood. Put wholly to shame those miserable helpers of Satan who lay snares for the virtue of priests and endanger the holy ideal of the priesthood. Most graciously accept our prayers and sacrifices for poor priests who have gone astray and hear our earnest petition.

 Amen 

Imprimatur - Bishop John F. Noll (April 18, 1948)

St. Anthony of Padua, defender of the Holy Eucharist, obtain for us holy priests

St. John-Mary Vianney, model of sacerdotal holiness, obtain for us holy priests

St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionary priests, obtain for us holy priests

St. Therese of the Child-Jesus and of the Holy Face, victim offered for the sanctification of priests, obtain for us holy priests

Saints and Servants of God, obtain for us holy priests.

At Prayer

The DC diocese just can't catch a break.

When I was a girl growing up in DC, Archbishop Hickey was not popular. He was known and is remembered as the bishop who closed down most of the Catholic schools including my high school. Some adults asked where the money for all those closed and sold off schools went but never got satisfactory answers.  There was so much bitterness about this that a lot of people my age who were affected by the closings stopped going to Mass as soon as they were confirmed or turned 18.

After Hickey, DC got Cardinal McCarrick who did evil in private and showed subtle approval of evil in public. Then came Cardinal Wuerl. Now the DC diocese is apparently about to get Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta.  Gregory was once a protege of Cardinal Bernadin... which raised the alarm bells because apparently Cardinal Bernadin had no use for normal, devout priests. Poor DC. Hopefully Archbishop Gregory will stay in DC  and leave the country parishes alone but it doesn't look good.

In loving memory

Grant eternal rest, Oh Lord to my faithfully departed Daughter of Charity teachers.

Father Richards and a big mess

 Back in January when  Father Larry Richards gave a speech at the annual Legatus summit he probably thought it was just another speaking engagement.  When he said that someone from Church Militant TV threatened to kill him  it went from being another day at the "office" to a mess. The Legatus organization is for Catholic CEOs and while its members aren't as noticeable as the Knights of Columbus they as a group and individually contribute generously to various Catholic organizations and their concerns are taken seriously.  There was probably a flurry of calls, emails and letters to Church Militant demanding an explanation. Michael Voris didn't take it lying down.    By last week Father Richards  backed off his statements in a Tweet. Church Militant was not mollified and is talking about legal action. I have a feeling that Father's superiors in the Diocese of Erie will either diffuse this by having him go on a long retreat at an unspecified location  or he'll come out swinging at Church Militant. Depending on what he decides to do, the next few days should be interesting.


St. John Vianney, pray for us.

A sad day

I went to a funeral today. The deceased was the son of one of my cousins. He was a bad boy. There is no way to sugar coat it.  His criminal record goes back to 2013. He was killed by someone who refused to be his victim.  I sat in that pew and watched and listened to his insta-canonization (a photo of him with wings and halo was on the cover of the funeral program)  and wanted to scream in frustration. Instead I squeezed my mother's hand and hugged his grandmother, my aunt. When my cousin's son got up last week and decided to do what he did, he had no idea that someone would fight back and win. He had no idea that this was his last day on earth. I hope that in the last minutes of his life he repented and begged God for mercy. Anything is possible.

Holy God, holy mighty God of justice and mercy, Thy will be done.
Saint Dismas, pray for us.

St. Patrick

I've never understood why people celebrate St. Patrick's day by behaving dishonoring  him by getting drunk and acting a fool. This is Saint Patrick. 

Don't leave the Lord because of His vicar

Pope Francis and his favorites are going to shock you, shame you, cause you grief like you never thought possible but don't leave the Church. Look at the crucifix. See Our Lord on that cross. See His agony. See Him abandoned by all His disciples. Don't leave Him and if in a moment of fear and weakness you do leave Him for a time, come back and stay with Him until death.

Random thoughts on a Saturday afternoon

St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for the Church

• Ash Wednesday was interesting at work. Only one Catholic had visible ashes this year and he declined to partake of the morning bagel spread. The rest of us decided to go to Mass after work or must have hidden the ashes with bangs. I only heard one loudly told offensive conversation from co-workers down the hall this year. I have no idea what this means.
  
  
• “For it is this which violates sobriety, kills modesty, slays chastity. It butchers virginity with the sword of a most filthy contagion. It befouls everything, it stains everything, it pollutes everything, and for itself it permits nothing pure, nothing foreign to filth, nothing clean..." St. Peter Damian from the Book of Gomorrah
  
  Whenever someone shows up at your child's story hour at the library and reads to them about homosexuality remember what St. Peter Damian said. These people can't tolerate your little child;s innocence and purity. When two women or two men with a child show up at your Catholic school and use the poor kid as a weapon to demand that the school change Catholic teaching remember what St. Peter Damian said. You and your children will not be left in peace. The spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah can not abide it.
  

• The Transformed Wife is not Catholic and I don't think she'd like me much but boy I wish a Catholic woman writer would say something like this.
  
  
  
• Rocky's recovery from hip surgery went pretty well. It's funny but those 9 weeks were the longest period of unbroken time we've ever been side by side in 31 years. Even when he was able to stop using the walker and was no longer a fall risk I was uncomfortable leaving his side for any more than it took to be at work. Once again I am reminded that love is at it's best when you are serving somebody.
  
  
  
  
• Anytime someone says to you that you need to follow them because they are here to change or save the world, run away. You 're dealing with a narcissist. 

Not ready to join the Pell bandwagon yet

There is a very sweet man who has been defending Cardinal Pell with passion and devotion. I haven't said a word to him about it because anything less than saddling up and riding out with him on crusade will not do for him. Cardinal Pell's conviction is so ridiculous that whether you like the man or not you have to admit that what he is accused of is impossible. Think about how many people are in a sacristy after Mass when the bishop comes to your own parish.  Now imagine your elderly bishop attacking two choir boys in full view of all those people. 

Perhaps Australia as several fiery Pell defenders have said, is at the end of the day, just anti-Catholic as you would expect from a daughter of England. Perhaps the country is in the grip of hysteria like the US was in the 80s. Remember that shameful episode? Day care workers and owners were accused of eating babies, flying in balloons, raping  toddlers in the classroom and in underground tunnels and cutting children with knives that left no scars or caused no bleeding. People were convicted and went to prison on the strength of that mad testimony so Australia is no worse than we are in that respect.

All that being said, I don't feel like jumping on the Cardinal Pell bandwagon. I think he is innocent of what he was accused of in this case and unless the Australians have completely lost their minds his appeal in this case will be successful  but I can't ignore those nagging rumors about him that have swirled in Australia and out for years. Those rumors could have been filthy lies. The old man who said he saw a naked Pell strutting and posing in a changing room in front of boys could have lied. The young males who claimed that Pell groped their genitalia in the pool could have lied. The people who claim that Cardinal Pell is homosexual could be lying. Maybe it is a conspiracy and the Vatican officials who found Pell's interference in their shady accounting at the Vatican bank had a hand in getting rid of him but I feel a strong urge towards caution, waiting and seeing in this case. Sorry.

Lent is Here

a prayer for the redemption of bad priests

Divine Savior Jesus Christ, Thou are the Good Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep. Oh, be in a very special way the Good Shepherd of those poor lost priests who are also appointed by Thee to be leaders of Thy people, but who have broken the oath of their holy ordination and have become unfaithful to their exalted calling. Bestow upon these poorest of the poor the very fullness of that pastoral solicitude with which Thou dost so faithfully seek the sheep that are lost! Touch their hearts with the irresistible ray of grace which emanates from Thine all-merciful love! Enlighten their minds and strengthen their wills, that they may turn away from all sin and error and come back to Thy holy altar and to Thy people. O most compassionate Savior! Remember that Thou didst once redeem the souls of Thine erring priests with Thy Precious Blood and in infinite preferential love didst impress upon them the indelible character of the priesthood. Put wholly to shame those miserable helpers of Satan who lay snares for the virtue of priests and endanger the holy ideal of the priesthood. Most graciously accept our prayers and sacrifices for poor priests who have gone astray and hear our earnest petition.

 Amen 

Imprimatur - Bishop John F. Noll (April 18, 1948)

St. Anthony of Padua, defender of the Holy Eucharist, obtain for us holy priests

St. John-Mary Vianney, model of sacerdotal holiness, obtain for us holy priests

St. Francis Xavier, patron of missionary priests, obtain for us holy priests

St. Therese of the Child-Jesus and of the Holy Face, victim offered for the sanctification of priests, obtain for us holy priests

Saints and Servants of God, obtain for us holy priests.