... if it wasn't a naked cash grab- why wasn't the Church offered to the Institute of Christ the King or the Fraternity of St Peter?
Why was the Latin Mass Community forbidden to advertise the existence of the Traditional Latin Mass?
I guess the answer is obvious.
M-O-N-E-Y.
And yet there is something about the idea of hardworking German immigrants saving and scrimping pennies to build Holy Trinity, and current parishoners, some who have large families, trying to support the parish, the German people, so proud of their heritage, and the homeless, at-risk-youth who are served by Holy Trinty being told to "take a hike".
It rankles.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
More on Holy Trinity's closing- I didn't think they would get away with it.
Holy Trinity Closing, But Welcoming Doors Not Opening – Yet
No German, Latin Masses for Displaced Parishioners; Reopening of Homeless Program Delayed
BOSTON – June 26 – On Sunday, June 29, Holy Trinity parishioners will hear for the first time the decree that formally closes the 164-year-old South End parish effective the following day, June 30. Despite the short interval between the formal announcement and the closure, parishioners will immediately appeal the decision to Cardinal Sean O’Malley.
The decree, signed early this week but yet to be formally read, will designate the Cathedral of the Holy Cross as the welcoming parish for Holy Trinity. At a parish council meeting Tuesday night, parishioners learned, however, that the Cathedral parish will be unable, at least in the near future, to offer Masses in German and English and in the traditional Latin (now known as the extraordinary form). In addition, parishioners learned that the Cardinal Medeiros Center , a day program for homeless older adults that had been run from the hall in the lower church, has been delayed in reopening in its new location.
Masses in English and German the extraordinary form have defined the life of Holy Trinity, and parishioners requested that they be part of the life of their welcoming parish. Holy Trinity, the Archdiocese’s oldest ethnic parish, was founded by German immigrants and has continued to offer readings and hymns in German at Mass. From 1990 to 2007, when special permission was still needed for its celebration, Holy Trinity was the only parish in the Archdiocese to offer the extraordinary form, the Mass used before revisions following Second Vatican Council in the mid 1960’s. In response to recently expanded papal permission, celebration of the extraordinary form resumed at Holy Trinity in February.
Cardinal O’Malley first announced his intention to close Holy Trinity in May 2004. The closure, which was originally to take place on June 30, 2005, was delayed for three years because the parish shared its facilities the Cardinal Medeiros Center and another group, the Bridge Over Troubled Waters residence for at-risk youth. The latter group moved this month to a residence in Brighton .
The Medeiros Center closed its doors at Holy Trinity on May 29 to move to the basement of Our Lady of Victories Church on Isabella Street . The program expected to reopen there on June 9, but it has yet to reopen because it does not have the necessary occupancy permit. According to Joe McPherson, the outgoing director, misunderstandings about the permitting process led to the delay. The group has received assistance from the Archdiocese and is working with them to resolve the remaining issues. As a best case, the program could reopen next week, three weeks behind schedule.
McPherson, who leaves the program after thirty years on Friday, is grateful for the twenty-five years it spent at Holy Trinity. “It [the program] was a continuation of the good works they had always done, such as the orphanage and the school, and I felt appreciated by the parishioners,” he explained during a telephone call. The parish founded an orphanage and home for the poor in Roxbury in 1888 and founded the first of three schools in 1848; all were closed in the early 1960’s.
The inability of the Cathedral to offer additional Masses in the near future will leave Holy Trinity parishioners scrambling to find Masses at other parishes. The closure of the 131-year-old church building, designed by renowned architect Patrick Keely and filled with stained glass windows and statuary from Germany , combined with the absence of the German/English Mass, effectively ends the German heritage in the Archdiocese of Boston.
The closure of Holy Trinity also again leaves the Archdiocese with only one Sunday Mass in the extraordinary form, celebrated at noon at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes in Newton . Attendance at that Mass, which draws about 300 people, is all but impossible for those without cars and difficult for people living northeast and southeast of Boston . Although expanded Vatican permission for the extraordinary form allows its celebration in every parish, establishing new locations, whether at the Cathedral or elsewhere, could take months. Attendance at the extraordinary form Mass at Holy Trinity has grown fifty percent in just four months, from 100 to 150 parishioners, as interest in the extraordinary form has grown throughout the Catholic Church.
These parishioners are keenly watching developments with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a group that broke with the Church in 1988 after it consecrated more bishops than allowed by the Vatican . Although it has used the extraordinary form exclusively since its founding in the 1960’s, that is not the reason for the break. According to reports in the Italian and French media, the SSPX has been given until June 28 to accept five preconditions for its return to full communion with Rome . If the SSPX does return, it may be offered a personal prelature, an arrangement where it, and not the local bishop, runs its parishes. Holy Trinity is considered an ideal church to be given to a potential personal prelature because it was never permanently altered to accommodate the post-Vatican II form of the Mass, is accessible both by automobile and public transportation, and has a reputation for fostering the extraordinary form.
For now, Holy Trinity parishioners will concentrate on the appeal process. They will have ten days, not counting Sundays, to appeal the closure to Cardinal O’Malley. If he rejects their appeal, they will then have recourse to the Vatican . Because the parish will be under appeal, Church law will forbid its dismantling or sale. The Holy Trinity property could be a prime candidate for redevelopment, just as the nearby Boston Herald and its parking lot have been recently reported to be. In fact, according to the South End News, developers have already approached the Archdiocese about Holy Trinity.
Throughout their four-year struggle, they never received an answer to the questions originally posited by the Parish Council: “Why was Holy Trinity designated for closure?” and “How does the loss of the Archdiocese’s German Catholic Heritage, relocation of the Traditional Latin Mass [extraordinary form], and the eviction of the Bridge Over Troubled Waters and the Cardinal Medeiros Center serve the best interest of the Archdiocese?”
Now, their questions have become, “What do they have planned for our beautiful buildings? Why are the buildings going to sit there when they could still serve our parishioners, our homeless, and our youth?”
-30-
CONTACT
Committee to Preserve Holy Trinity Parish
Christine M. Quagan, Media Coordinator
617-325-5905 (home); 617-852-0315 (cell)
cquagan@comcast.net
NOTE: Please refer all questions about the Cardinal Medeiros Center to its main number, 617-619-6960.
No German, Latin Masses for Displaced Parishioners; Reopening of Homeless Program Delayed
BOSTON – June 26 – On Sunday, June 29, Holy Trinity parishioners will hear for the first time the decree that formally closes the 164-year-old South End parish effective the following day, June 30. Despite the short interval between the formal announcement and the closure, parishioners will immediately appeal the decision to Cardinal Sean O’Malley.
The decree, signed early this week but yet to be formally read, will designate the Cathedral of the Holy Cross as the welcoming parish for Holy Trinity. At a parish council meeting Tuesday night, parishioners learned, however, that the Cathedral parish will be unable, at least in the near future, to offer Masses in German and English and in the traditional Latin (now known as the extraordinary form). In addition, parishioners learned that the Cardinal Medeiros Center , a day program for homeless older adults that had been run from the hall in the lower church, has been delayed in reopening in its new location.
Masses in English and German the extraordinary form have defined the life of Holy Trinity, and parishioners requested that they be part of the life of their welcoming parish. Holy Trinity, the Archdiocese’s oldest ethnic parish, was founded by German immigrants and has continued to offer readings and hymns in German at Mass. From 1990 to 2007, when special permission was still needed for its celebration, Holy Trinity was the only parish in the Archdiocese to offer the extraordinary form, the Mass used before revisions following Second Vatican Council in the mid 1960’s. In response to recently expanded papal permission, celebration of the extraordinary form resumed at Holy Trinity in February.
Cardinal O’Malley first announced his intention to close Holy Trinity in May 2004. The closure, which was originally to take place on June 30, 2005, was delayed for three years because the parish shared its facilities the Cardinal Medeiros Center and another group, the Bridge Over Troubled Waters residence for at-risk youth. The latter group moved this month to a residence in Brighton .
The Medeiros Center closed its doors at Holy Trinity on May 29 to move to the basement of Our Lady of Victories Church on Isabella Street . The program expected to reopen there on June 9, but it has yet to reopen because it does not have the necessary occupancy permit. According to Joe McPherson, the outgoing director, misunderstandings about the permitting process led to the delay. The group has received assistance from the Archdiocese and is working with them to resolve the remaining issues. As a best case, the program could reopen next week, three weeks behind schedule.
McPherson, who leaves the program after thirty years on Friday, is grateful for the twenty-five years it spent at Holy Trinity. “It [the program] was a continuation of the good works they had always done, such as the orphanage and the school, and I felt appreciated by the parishioners,” he explained during a telephone call. The parish founded an orphanage and home for the poor in Roxbury in 1888 and founded the first of three schools in 1848; all were closed in the early 1960’s.
The inability of the Cathedral to offer additional Masses in the near future will leave Holy Trinity parishioners scrambling to find Masses at other parishes. The closure of the 131-year-old church building, designed by renowned architect Patrick Keely and filled with stained glass windows and statuary from Germany , combined with the absence of the German/English Mass, effectively ends the German heritage in the Archdiocese of Boston.
The closure of Holy Trinity also again leaves the Archdiocese with only one Sunday Mass in the extraordinary form, celebrated at noon at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes in Newton . Attendance at that Mass, which draws about 300 people, is all but impossible for those without cars and difficult for people living northeast and southeast of Boston . Although expanded Vatican permission for the extraordinary form allows its celebration in every parish, establishing new locations, whether at the Cathedral or elsewhere, could take months. Attendance at the extraordinary form Mass at Holy Trinity has grown fifty percent in just four months, from 100 to 150 parishioners, as interest in the extraordinary form has grown throughout the Catholic Church.
These parishioners are keenly watching developments with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), a group that broke with the Church in 1988 after it consecrated more bishops than allowed by the Vatican . Although it has used the extraordinary form exclusively since its founding in the 1960’s, that is not the reason for the break. According to reports in the Italian and French media, the SSPX has been given until June 28 to accept five preconditions for its return to full communion with Rome . If the SSPX does return, it may be offered a personal prelature, an arrangement where it, and not the local bishop, runs its parishes. Holy Trinity is considered an ideal church to be given to a potential personal prelature because it was never permanently altered to accommodate the post-Vatican II form of the Mass, is accessible both by automobile and public transportation, and has a reputation for fostering the extraordinary form.
For now, Holy Trinity parishioners will concentrate on the appeal process. They will have ten days, not counting Sundays, to appeal the closure to Cardinal O’Malley. If he rejects their appeal, they will then have recourse to the Vatican . Because the parish will be under appeal, Church law will forbid its dismantling or sale. The Holy Trinity property could be a prime candidate for redevelopment, just as the nearby Boston Herald and its parking lot have been recently reported to be. In fact, according to the South End News, developers have already approached the Archdiocese about Holy Trinity.
Throughout their four-year struggle, they never received an answer to the questions originally posited by the Parish Council: “Why was Holy Trinity designated for closure?” and “How does the loss of the Archdiocese’s German Catholic Heritage, relocation of the Traditional Latin Mass [extraordinary form], and the eviction of the Bridge Over Troubled Waters and the Cardinal Medeiros Center serve the best interest of the Archdiocese?”
Now, their questions have become, “What do they have planned for our beautiful buildings? Why are the buildings going to sit there when they could still serve our parishioners, our homeless, and our youth?”
-30-
CONTACT
Committee to Preserve Holy Trinity Parish
Christine M. Quagan, Media Coordinator
617-325-5905 (home); 617-852-0315 (cell)
cquagan@comcast.net
NOTE: Please refer all questions about the Cardinal Medeiros Center to its main number, 617-619-6960.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Holy Trinity Church in Boston is closing June 30th, 2008
These two websites have more information about Holy Trinity along with pictures of the stunning architecture and sacred art.
Visit here for the pictures.
And here for history.
We have a marble reredros.
Exquisite Stations of the Cross.
Parish of the famous Fr. Francis X. Weisner, author of The Easter Book and the Christmas Book.
A Church that has served the poor and unfortunate for years with social service programs.
Home of the Latin Mass.
History, liturgy, beauty, tradition, charity versus a commercial real estate deal.
I don't even think they thought twice.
All that money, (the property is likely to fetch several million once the wrecking ball clears away all the trappings of Christianity), and the Latin Mass is exiled from Boston at the same time.
That's what they call a "two-fer".
Visit here for the pictures.
And here for history.
We have a marble reredros.
Exquisite Stations of the Cross.
Parish of the famous Fr. Francis X. Weisner, author of The Easter Book and the Christmas Book.
A Church that has served the poor and unfortunate for years with social service programs.
Home of the Latin Mass.
History, liturgy, beauty, tradition, charity versus a commercial real estate deal.
I don't even think they thought twice.
All that money, (the property is likely to fetch several million once the wrecking ball clears away all the trappings of Christianity), and the Latin Mass is exiled from Boston at the same time.
That's what they call a "two-fer".
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Bear Hill Trail, really!
My parents have recently moved back from Ireland to live on Bear Trail, Henniker, NH.
These are their pictures!
Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!
Without further ado- Ragu!
Well I was reminded that I was supposed to post about a delicious sample I was so generously given and I thought:
What's better than anything for dinner?
and
Friend of the working Mom?
Friend of the stay-at-home Mom?
Friend of the homeschooling-Mom?
Friend of the camping-Mom?
Pasta of course!
I was invited to try something new: Ragu Spaghetti sauce in a pouch!
Now every mom knows that when you have your kids unloading the groceries from the car you just kind of wait to see what they will break... a gallon of milk? a jar of spaghetti sauce? a dozen eggs?
But now- just you wait! Ragu comes in a pouch.
When I first saw this I immediately thought.
C-A-M-P-I-N-G.
For those nights when the boys don't exactly come back with a catch. For those nights when you really don't feel like venturing out to an overpriced "camper's store" for dinner.
A little pasta. A little Ragu. A little parmesan. And you have dinner.
Bon Appetit!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
It's Always Nice to hear from readers....
I received this rather charming letter today about my post concerning the girl who wanted to bring another girl to the prom. I have censored some of the ahem, adjectives but I don't think anything is lost.
This post on the Bishop Feehan student who wanted to bring another girl to the prom has continued to generate some of the most interesting commentary. The irony is that this young lady went to the press with her story. So for her to claim persecution is rather amusing and a little bit beside the point.
Isn't it funny that I cannot be offended by anything that liberals and homosexuals do but they are allowed to be offended by what I believe and say? Ironic, n'est ce pas?
I currently live in a state where being Southern Baptist is the chosen path. I continue to look back and appreciate my Catholic experience at Bishop Feehan and being raised in North Attleboro. I continue to respect and take pride in the beliefs of being a Catholic in the North Eastern States of the United States of America.
I recently read the blogs regarding the girl who wanted to accompany another girl to the prom at Bishop Feehan High. I personally think you are a ****ing Idiot and you make me want to retract my above statements. Why don't you begin basterdising [sic] the Catholic religion and start going door to door converting people. Nobody gives a **** about what you think, just keep your mouth shut and treat others as you wish to be treated.
Thank you for your time!
This post on the Bishop Feehan student who wanted to bring another girl to the prom has continued to generate some of the most interesting commentary. The irony is that this young lady went to the press with her story. So for her to claim persecution is rather amusing and a little bit beside the point.
Isn't it funny that I cannot be offended by anything that liberals and homosexuals do but they are allowed to be offended by what I believe and say? Ironic, n'est ce pas?
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Real Problem...
Has anyone been following the story of the 870 prisoners that were released when a group of Taliban attacked a prison?
870?
They all got out?
Did any American soldiers die?
And then I saw this article by the most unreliable U.K. Times: "Bush says Get Bin Laden Before I Leave Office"
No doubt in my mind Bush said this in a plea to get the British to hang in there in Iraq and not bail prematurely.
A good friend of mine is a Ranger and on a special mission in Iraq travelling with a small elite group. I'm convinced they are hunting Bin Laden in the mountains. I hope to see news footage of him smoking a cigar some evening in Afghanistan.
And putting the two news articles together I wondered if some of the prisoners in the Afghan prison are being tracked either visually or electronically in hopes that they will lead the U.S. to Bin Laden. And the prison escape was staged or even instigated by the U.S.
And while this seems perfectly logical and even likely to me. At the same time I wonder if I have been watching way too much La Femme Nikita.
Forgive the hyperbole because in reality there is no such thing as too much La Femme Nikita.
I just finished watching Season 1 and 2. Season 3 and 4 are now available on DVD at BJ's. I informed my sister (who upon my receipt of these DVDs will henceforth be known as "my favorite sister"). In re-watching them they are even more sinister than I remember.
The premise of the show:
"I was falsely accused of a hideous crime
and sentenced to life in prison.
One day I was taken from my cell
to a place called Section One,
the most covert antiterrorist group on the planet.
Their ends are just, but their means are ruthless.
If I don't play by their rules, I die."
There are so many blog posts about this show. (Amateurs).I was trying to find the promo on youtube but it seems to have been removed. Unfortunately the covers on the DVD cases are very trashy. An obvious attempt to get men to watch this series however in my experience they won't.
So if you tend to be a paranoid person, and honestly what Traditional Catholic isn't? This is the series to watch to hone your level of paranoia to a finer, sharper grade.
And my sister (soon to be known as "my favorite sister") believes that the character Madeline was based upon her. If you knew my sister you would understand that comparison. In honor of her getting me these DVDs for my birthday (which is in only 13 days!) I found this on youtube for her. Apparently someone made their own episode about, of all people the infamous, the nefarious Madeline.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Tim Russert, Deceased
Tim Russert died of an apparent heart attack after returning from a celebratory trip to Italy to celebrate the graduation of his son, Luke from Boston College.
When I told my sister, the first thing she said was, "Is he really dead or in the witness protection program?"
And then I read this from a Fox News story:
His reputation — criticized both by conservatives for liberal bias and liberals for conservative bias — might have been the only one left untarnished by the scandal involving former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and former CIA operative Valerie Plame in the CIA Leak case, which turned on Russert's testimony.
Another case where you have to wonder what really happened is that of the FBI agent and Opus Dei operative that went to jail, Robert Hanssen.
Is he in jail or protective custody?
Is Russert really dead?
It's a sign of the paranoia of our times when we question every news item and especially those that seem suspicious.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
A Graduation Speech
At the Traditional Catholic School my son attends, the 8th Grade class competes for the privilege of giving the Graduation speech. This is the speech that my 14 year old son Andrew wrote. You might remember that he also wrote a short essay on Perseverance. Andrew received an A for this speech and I am very proud of him. He was not selected to give the speech at graduation however. The two students who will give the speech must have really written something extraordinary and I can hardly wait to hear them.
Andrew Alexander May 28, 2008
Grade 8
Christ Our Hope
“ I am coming sent by Jesus Christ to bring you His word of life. Together, with my bishops I have chosen as a theme of my journey three simple but essential words: Christ our Hope. Following the footsteps of my venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II, I shall come to the United States as Pope for the first time to proclaim this great truth.” These are the words of our holy father, Pope Benedict XVI before his arrival to our country. A lot of people might ask,” why is the topic Christ our Hope? What does this mean?”
Our visible head of the Church meant something our ignorant world needs to hear. When we think of Our Lord, we think of our Divine Creator, or the second person of the Blessed Trinity who died for us. We can all agree that this simply defines Christ, but He is much more, for He is our Hope who can help us in any difficult time in life. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the one that keeps us in existence. He is the only one that gives us a reason to live our lives to the fullest of our expectations whether we are living in good times or bad. During times when we may be having a bad day, or long tiring week, it may not occur to us that the only way we can get through these troubles is Christ. We must rely on Christ so that He may help us stand strong in our faith in the midst of these troubles.
Here, at this school, Christ gives us the blessing of living around other Catholics, who are willing to live and die for their faith. When Christ gives us this opportunity, we should take advantage of it, enjoy it, cherish it, for the Lord can give and the Lord can take away.
We must prove how much we rely on Christ through prayer that He may help us pull through any problem or tragedy in our lives. In the Battle of Lepanto, it seemed hopeless for the crusaders to conquer the Muslims, but when our ancestors of Christian Europe prayed the Rosary, the soldiers of Christ came to a victorious domination over the Islamic Turks. Surely, people must have realized that no matter how hopeless situations can appear, miracles can happen and Christ will prevail.
Here in our time, we live in a restless world that will remain restless until the end of time. No matter how difficult life may be, it does not mean we alone can change the ideas of our world and teach them the main goal of life: Eternal Salvation in Heaven. Without the help of Christ, we will continue our errors, neglecting to perfect our lives, our nation, and the rest of the world. So, today I challenge each and every one of you to perfect your lives as Catholics and show the world the one supernatural goal in life, for it is not too late, and with Christ, there is still hope.
And here he is- Andrew, just a regular guy.
Andrew Alexander May 28, 2008
Grade 8
Christ Our Hope
“ I am coming sent by Jesus Christ to bring you His word of life. Together, with my bishops I have chosen as a theme of my journey three simple but essential words: Christ our Hope. Following the footsteps of my venerable predecessors Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II, I shall come to the United States as Pope for the first time to proclaim this great truth.” These are the words of our holy father, Pope Benedict XVI before his arrival to our country. A lot of people might ask,” why is the topic Christ our Hope? What does this mean?”
Our visible head of the Church meant something our ignorant world needs to hear. When we think of Our Lord, we think of our Divine Creator, or the second person of the Blessed Trinity who died for us. We can all agree that this simply defines Christ, but He is much more, for He is our Hope who can help us in any difficult time in life. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the one that keeps us in existence. He is the only one that gives us a reason to live our lives to the fullest of our expectations whether we are living in good times or bad. During times when we may be having a bad day, or long tiring week, it may not occur to us that the only way we can get through these troubles is Christ. We must rely on Christ so that He may help us stand strong in our faith in the midst of these troubles.
Here, at this school, Christ gives us the blessing of living around other Catholics, who are willing to live and die for their faith. When Christ gives us this opportunity, we should take advantage of it, enjoy it, cherish it, for the Lord can give and the Lord can take away.
We must prove how much we rely on Christ through prayer that He may help us pull through any problem or tragedy in our lives. In the Battle of Lepanto, it seemed hopeless for the crusaders to conquer the Muslims, but when our ancestors of Christian Europe prayed the Rosary, the soldiers of Christ came to a victorious domination over the Islamic Turks. Surely, people must have realized that no matter how hopeless situations can appear, miracles can happen and Christ will prevail.
Here in our time, we live in a restless world that will remain restless until the end of time. No matter how difficult life may be, it does not mean we alone can change the ideas of our world and teach them the main goal of life: Eternal Salvation in Heaven. Without the help of Christ, we will continue our errors, neglecting to perfect our lives, our nation, and the rest of the world. So, today I challenge each and every one of you to perfect your lives as Catholics and show the world the one supernatural goal in life, for it is not too late, and with Christ, there is still hope.
And here he is- Andrew, just a regular guy.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Just has to post this adorable pic
...of my godson, Michael. His older brother Joey and sister Anastasia.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A True Story
On Freecycle today some discerning soul offered:
"New Queen sized sheets, white cotton"
with the explanation,
"They don't match anything I have."
Yes those were WHITE, COTTON sheets.
Ohhhh- Kaaaay.
Monday, May 26, 2008
A Home is...
A roof to keep out the rain. Four walls to keep out the wind. Floors to keep out the cold. Yes, but home is more than that. It is the laugh of a baby, the song of a mother, the strength of a father. Warmth of loving hearts, light from happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship. Home is first school...for the young ones where they learn what is right, what is good, and what is kind. Where they go for comfort when they are hurt or sick. Where joy is shared and sorrow eased. Where fathers and mothers are respected and loved. Where children are wanted. Where the simplest food is good enough for kings because it is earned. Where money is not so important as loving-kindness. Where even the teakettle sings from happiness. That is home.~ Ernestine Schumann-Heink
snitched from One Woman's Cottage Life.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Currently listening to...
A contemporary Christian band. My 14 year old son Andrew looks just like them. Maybe I should let him grow his sideburns? (naaahhh)
To listen to their latest go here.
To order the CD (like I just did) go here.
And if you still need convincing:
The early days: a song about impoverished newly married life:
Lightswitch.
Well I do have teenagers. 3 soon to be 4.
The goal of Lightswitch:
"Our desire to see people realize that God loves them and has a plan for them and to encourage them to live an uncompromised life for Him while living in a very compromised world. Our mission is to encourage this generation in their walk with God."
Mine too.
A good graduation party song:
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Spring
...is the best time of the year to live here. The crab apple tree is in bloom and I have a perfect view of it from the kitchen window as well as the dining room. The rough patches in the front yard are the work of the dreaded grub. The drive, in front of the rock wall, is old and has not been used for years. I want to spread white gravel on it because I think it will have a magical effect. In front of the drive, near the road is where I am planting a meadow a la Christopher Lloyd.
I planted my first meadow flowers. They were at BJ's and are called Cheddar Pinks. (apparently they are also known as fire witch dianthus. Creepy) They have a scent of cloves which I could not tell when I planted them because of my cold.
It looks like a plant that will take over. So if I give up on my gardening there will be a meadow of cheddar pinks at least.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Dr. Paul Byrne exposes "Brain Death": the fraud
Dr. Paul Byrne with Maryknoll father, Father Paul O'Brien, M.M
Dr. Paul Byrne, a Catholic neonatalogist and father of 12, gave a talk at St. Anthony's in Shirley, MA. Let me just say that I was blown away by what he had to say. He has studied the fraud of brain death and how it has been perpetrated to allow organs to be harvested from living people. It was really an incredible presentation and on more than one occasion there were audible gasps from the audience.
American Life League has published articles by Dr. Byrne on their website and in their magazine. There has been a media black out by other Catholic media sources, including Television if you know what I mean. Naturally, the person who "pulled the plug" on a one hour special featuring Dr. Byrne and Bishop Bruskewitz was a Catholic who runs his own "Catholic nonprofit". May God have mercy on them.
Anyway, I found this article that I think captures the essence of what Dr. Byrne is saying. It's a message we can't ignore.
Go here to read it.
Dr. Byrne's website Life Guardian.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Housekeeping
I had never heard of this book and was only attracted to it by its title. There are some of us who still have to keep house you know. And maybe what began as duress ended in considerable contentment. Especially in view of the little things that make housekeeping feed our souls. Folding line-bleached cloth diapers, snipping peppermint leaves to make a cup of tea for a visitor, having strawberry lemon marmalade on hand and hearing the timer for the batch of fresh baked bread that you will serve first as an after-school snack and then as an accompaniment to dinner.
And to think that we housekeepers and mothers have been deigned to be worthy of $117,000 per year. And on the one hand we think, how base to distill our worth to mere dollars and on the other hand we think, but it IS six figures and that is nothing to be sneezed at.
But back to the book. I bought it for the title and the checked curtains on the cover and the review by Walker Percy. It is a book about tragedy. And about family. And about how families pull together and drift apart when subjected to tragedy.
And it's the kind of book that you read and realize the author, Marilyn Robinson, is in such control of her prose that she does not have to force it. After a few sentences I find I have to force it or I can't go on. She doesn't.
I've concluded recently that no book, or movie or play is of any worth if it does not have as its main theme - redemption. It is this that struck me about the movie, "Changing Lanes". It's the redemption of the human race that inspires and propels us to improve, persevere and strive. Redemption is the ultimate gift and the only gift that matters.
From the book:
Memory is the sense of loss, and loss pulls us after it. God Himself was pulled after us into the vortex we made when we fell, or so the story goes. And while He was on earth He mended families. He gave Lazarus back to his mother, and to the centurion he gave his daughter again. He even restored the severed ear of the soldier who came to arrest Him- a fact that allows us to hope the resurrection will reflect a considerable attention to detail. Yet this was no more than tinkering. Being man He felt the pull of death, and being God He must have wondered more than we do what it would be like. He is known to have walked upon water, but He was not born to drown. And when He did die it was sad- such a young man so full of promise, and His mother wept and His friends could not believe the loss and the story spread everywhere and the mourning could not be comforted, until He was so sharply lacked and so powerfully remembered that His friends felt Him beside them as they walked along the road, and saw someone cooking fish on the shore and knew it to be Him, and sat down to supper with Him, all wounded as He was.
It's a worthwhile book to read.
I'm on page 201 and there are only 219 pages left.
I am steeling myself to read the last few pages. Tragedy is heavy in the air. I cannot decide if it will be state-imposed tragedy or self-imposed tragedy. I'm not sure which would be worse. I suppose state-imposed tragedy leaves the soul free of culpability so that is to be preferred. But dreaded nonetheless in the very human sense.
A good book to read while you cherish your family. And be thankful that tragedy is not too heavy in the air.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
A Tempest in Tights
As anyone who still reads this blog, and I can't believe there are people who do considering the way I have neglected it, you know that I am a big fan of the book "Faithful Departed" by Phil Lawler. and I've been helping out with the blog.
Amy Welborn, probably the most pre-eminent Catholic female blogger posted a review over at her site. The review is very positive though as it continues she is asking for the book to do more than one book can possibly do. Anything else will have to be go into the next book.
But anyway that is not my point. The first, hot off the presses comment is just seething with resentment and anger. No, not at the abuse scandal. No, not at the way the Bishops have mismanaged the thing. And no, not even at Fr. Feeney.
The anger is directed at the evil, the nefarious Phil Lawler. The writer states the following:
1 TOM RYAN
I have not read the book yet, but will do so asap.
Always to be remembered is that Phil was fired from his post at the archdiocese of Boston newspaper by Cardinal Law, and some of us felt that there was due cause….but the debris falling from that very acrimonious scene has sometimes been seen in Phil’s writing and commentary.
No, no, not the debris. Yes, it is very, very amusing. Especially so for anyone who has read the book and knows that Phil discusses the fact that he was fired. Thank you Tom Ryan for telling us NOTHING NEW.
It seems from his vitriolic little comment that Tom Ryan is a person, in the know and privvy to the inner workings of the Archdiocese of Boston. I wondered if "Tom Ryan" could possibly be "Fr. Tom Ryan" Googling Fr. Tom Ryan brought up so many interesting websites. Fr. Tom Ryan is a Paulist Priest dedicated to yoga and ecumenism. His website contains the requisite article slamming Traditional Catholics. It is entitled "Catholic Fundamentalism". I didn't even have to read all of his work to know that this one would sum up his views. The liberals are nothing if not predictable.
Fr. Ryan has a yoga website here with a discussion of his "spiritual journey. And there is a Paulist Center in Boston.
Just chalk it up to things that make you go hmmmmm.
Well, when you know you have the Paulists upset with you,you can only know that you have made it, you have really arrived, as evidenced by the fact that you have all the right enemies.
What annoys me is the idea that the writer does not say he will BUY THE BOOK. He is probably going to go into Barnes and Noble with a latte in one hand and the book in the other. Cheapskate.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Only A Child
What happened me to stumble upon this poem was the challenge from a dear friend who found the work of Edith Wharton ... dull. (It is painful even to communicate such heresy).
I therefore dedicate this poem, by Edith Wharton to the children who have been swept up by the state from the FLDS community. Children who are being assigned to foster care and group homes because the community *might* be allowing underage girls to marry. Now keep in mind that the same state officials have absolutely no problem with young girls being sexually active- that is quite fine and a measure of freedom and empowerment. (my apologies to Maggie Gallagher for saying it even in jest) But keep in mind that activity must be contracepted, the results aborted and relationship uncommitted. That my friends is
Just.
Enlightened.
A-Okay.
Just ask yourself- is there evidence of child abuse? No.
Is there evidence of neglect? No.
Is this an attempt by the federal government to redeem themselves after the disaster of Waco? Clearly.
I am not in favor of polygamy. But keep in mind that the same government forces that have taken children from their mothers (however misguided those ladies may be) have no problem with divorce and remarriage (serial polygamy), promiscuity, abortion and contraception- and I realize the line between the two is becoming more blurry by the day.
But who is paying for crime of polygamy? The men who take multiple wives? Some disgustingly young? Or the children born to those relationships?
The wrong people are in jail... I mean foster care. Well you know what I mean.
ONLY A CHILD.
"The Press of May 27 publishes an account of the suicide in the House of Refuge at Philadelphia of a boy who was only twelve years old. He was locked up in solitary confinement. They found him hanging by the neck dead and cold. Tired of waiting for the release that never came, he had at last escaped -- from that House of Refuge!" -- THE WORLD.
They found him hanging dead, you know,
In the cell where he had lain
Through many a day of restless woe
And night of sleepless pain.
The heart had ceased its beating,
The little hands were numb,
And the piteous voice entreating
In death at last was dumb.
No doubt it was a painful fact
For them to contemplate;
They felt the horror of the act,
But felt it rather late.
There was none to lay the blame to --
That, each one understands;
And the jury found -- he came to
His death by his own hands!
Poor little hands! that should have known
No subtler arts than these --
To seek for violets newly blown
Beneath the April breeze,
Or gaily bind unchidden
The daisies into sheaves,
Or reach the bird's nest hidden
Among the budding leaves.
Poor little hands! And little heart
That ached so long alone,
With none to ease its secret smart
And none to hear its moan;
As he lay where they had cast him
In the dark upon the floor,
And heard the feet go past him
Outside his prison door.
Think of him, you whose children lie
Soft sleeping overhead;
All day he could not see the sky,
All night he had no bed.
Your walls of brick and mortar
To shut the child's soul in,
And starving on bread and water
For -- some little childish sin!
So in the darkness there he lay
While the hours crawled along,
And thought of the woodlands far away
Awake with the robin's song;
And thought of the green grass growing
And the boys at play outside,
And the breath of heaven blowing
O'er the country far and wide.
Perhaps he saw his mother's face
Bend o'er him in the gloom;
But when he leaned to catch her dress
She vanished from the room;
And though he tried to remember
The prayer he used to say,
In a pitiful, broken stammer
On his lips it died away.
His little hands had nought to do
But beat against the wall,
Until at last too tired they grew --
Poor little hands -- so small!
And so he lay there voiceless,
Alone upon the ground;
If he wept, his tears were noiseless,
For he feared to hear their sound.
At last perhaps the silence grew
Too deep -- it dazed his head --
And his little hands had naught to do;
And so -- they found him dead!
In a Christian town it happened,
In a home for children built,
And God knows whose soul shall answer
For the burden of this guilt!
But He who bade the children come
And not be turned away,
Has surely taken the homeless home,
And we need not mourn to-day;
For our lives are all God-given,
The poorest to him is dear,
And the Father has room in heaven
For the children we don't want here!
New York, May 29 EADGYTH.
I therefore dedicate this poem, by Edith Wharton to the children who have been swept up by the state from the FLDS community. Children who are being assigned to foster care and group homes because the community *might* be allowing underage girls to marry. Now keep in mind that the same state officials have absolutely no problem with young girls being sexually active- that is quite fine and a measure of freedom and empowerment. (my apologies to Maggie Gallagher for saying it even in jest) But keep in mind that activity must be contracepted, the results aborted and relationship uncommitted. That my friends is
Just.
Enlightened.
A-Okay.
Just ask yourself- is there evidence of child abuse? No.
Is there evidence of neglect? No.
Is this an attempt by the federal government to redeem themselves after the disaster of Waco? Clearly.
I am not in favor of polygamy. But keep in mind that the same government forces that have taken children from their mothers (however misguided those ladies may be) have no problem with divorce and remarriage (serial polygamy), promiscuity, abortion and contraception- and I realize the line between the two is becoming more blurry by the day.
But who is paying for crime of polygamy? The men who take multiple wives? Some disgustingly young? Or the children born to those relationships?
The wrong people are in jail... I mean foster care. Well you know what I mean.
ONLY A CHILD.
"The Press of May 27 publishes an account of the suicide in the House of Refuge at Philadelphia of a boy who was only twelve years old. He was locked up in solitary confinement. They found him hanging by the neck dead and cold. Tired of waiting for the release that never came, he had at last escaped -- from that House of Refuge!" -- THE WORLD.
They found him hanging dead, you know,
In the cell where he had lain
Through many a day of restless woe
And night of sleepless pain.
The heart had ceased its beating,
The little hands were numb,
And the piteous voice entreating
In death at last was dumb.
No doubt it was a painful fact
For them to contemplate;
They felt the horror of the act,
But felt it rather late.
There was none to lay the blame to --
That, each one understands;
And the jury found -- he came to
His death by his own hands!
Poor little hands! that should have known
No subtler arts than these --
To seek for violets newly blown
Beneath the April breeze,
Or gaily bind unchidden
The daisies into sheaves,
Or reach the bird's nest hidden
Among the budding leaves.
Poor little hands! And little heart
That ached so long alone,
With none to ease its secret smart
And none to hear its moan;
As he lay where they had cast him
In the dark upon the floor,
And heard the feet go past him
Outside his prison door.
Think of him, you whose children lie
Soft sleeping overhead;
All day he could not see the sky,
All night he had no bed.
Your walls of brick and mortar
To shut the child's soul in,
And starving on bread and water
For -- some little childish sin!
So in the darkness there he lay
While the hours crawled along,
And thought of the woodlands far away
Awake with the robin's song;
And thought of the green grass growing
And the boys at play outside,
And the breath of heaven blowing
O'er the country far and wide.
Perhaps he saw his mother's face
Bend o'er him in the gloom;
But when he leaned to catch her dress
She vanished from the room;
And though he tried to remember
The prayer he used to say,
In a pitiful, broken stammer
On his lips it died away.
His little hands had nought to do
But beat against the wall,
Until at last too tired they grew --
Poor little hands -- so small!
And so he lay there voiceless,
Alone upon the ground;
If he wept, his tears were noiseless,
For he feared to hear their sound.
At last perhaps the silence grew
Too deep -- it dazed his head --
And his little hands had naught to do;
And so -- they found him dead!
In a Christian town it happened,
In a home for children built,
And God knows whose soul shall answer
For the burden of this guilt!
But He who bade the children come
And not be turned away,
Has surely taken the homeless home,
And we need not mourn to-day;
For our lives are all God-given,
The poorest to him is dear,
And the Father has room in heaven
For the children we don't want here!
New York, May 29 EADGYTH.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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