Pastoral care.

Post Halloween Mass.
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Last evening Father invited all the little kids to wear their Halloween costumes to Mass because there would be a pizza party afterwards, and because he wanted to celebrate the Christian side of Halloween as well.  (I don't know - that's what he said.)  Last Saturday was Halloween of course, and I expect the little nippers would have been much too distracted and way too busy trick-or-treating to come dressed up or stay for a party.
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It was very cute really.  All the little animals, super-heroes, princesses and witches processed in with Father and Deacon.  Then at collection time they all ran up front to put their money in the kid's collection box - OH!  And then!  And then - after Mass - but before the final blessing, they all assembled on the altar steps to a round of applause and photo op. 
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I know!  I didn't get it either.

Normal, good people...

They really do exist.
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I drove out to Stillwater, Minnesota yesterday to advise a friend on the set up of a gift shop within his bookstore.  He and another fellow own a rather prestigious antiquarian book-selling company, and at their separate facility which happens to be their theological bookstore, they want to begin selling fine Catholic gifts and art.  They are off to a good start - I'll write about the shop another day however.
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What impressed me about these fellows, my friend in particular, is how solid and steady they are; in faith, in business, in family, in morals, and so on.  My friend is very well educated and learned, a devout Catholic, a husband and father of 3.  He is very well balanced and open, in fact I think he is one of the most humble, easy going guys I have ever met, as is his wife.  I could never begin to say enough good about them.  His business partner, staff and coworkers obviously respect him, as he surely does them, and everyone works together very well.  The business operates in an atmosphere of peace and joy and genuine good will.
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I comment on this because such ordinary good lives appear to have become truly extraordinary in our day - at least in my experience.  Now that I am older and fortunate enough to capture a glimpse into the lives of people such as these folks, I'm able to appreciate what a normal, good life is:  The living out of God's will and purpose for His beloved, the fecundity and happiness of family life as it is meant to be, the mutual charity, friendship and fraternity between business associates, coworkers and employees, and so on.
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This post may sound strange, but I didn't come from such a good, much less stable background.  For most of my life I wasn't ever certain what normal was, and believe it or not, I was kind of scared of it when I saw it.  Now that I'm older and less affected by trend and social expectations and fear of not fitting in, I have a deeper appreciation for what I once considered ordinary and uninteresting.  The new normals in contemporary culture has forced me to recognize the greatness of ordinary life - the real normal.  Indeed, I'm deeply edified and consoled such goodness prospers and continues to exist.
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Now days I hope and pray even more for families, that they remain untainted and undisturbed by the contagion of the world's slow stain:  I pray for an increase of good, moral, faithful - especially Catholic - moms and dads and children.  These are the foundation of civilization, and must be defended, protected and supported.  The family is THE common good. 
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Art:  Peter Paul Rubens - Holy Family With Saints

Bloggers.

"We're dealing with sick people here, you understand. Dangerously sick people!" - Nurse Diesel

The forgotten war in Afghanistan

The one the Soviets lost...
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The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, only to withdraw in defeat 10 years later - the war has often been called the Soviet's Vietnam.  If I remember correctly, the Soviet military suffered as much from low morale as they did from casualties during the conflict.
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The unwinable 9 Year war.
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"Between December 25, 1979 and February 15, 1989, a total of 620,000 soldiers served with the forces in Afghanistan.  There were 469,685 sick and wounded, of whom 53,753 or 11.44 percent, were wounded, injured, or sustained concussion and 415,932 (88.56 percent) fell sick. A high proportion of casualties were those who fell ill. This was because of local climatic and sanitary conditions, which were such that acute infections spread rapidly among the troops. There were 115,308 cases of infectious hepatitis, 31,080 of typhoid fever, and 140,665 of other diseases. Of the 11,654 who were discharged from the army after being wounded, maimed, or contracting serious diseases, 92 percent, or 10,751 men, were left disabled.
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After the war ended, the Soviet Union published figures of dead Soviet soldiers: the total was 13,836 men, an average of 1,512 men a year. According to updated figures, the Soviet army lost 14,427, the KGB lost 576, with 28 people dead and missing. - Source
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Casualty of war.
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After watching news coverage of yesterday's tragic massacre at Fort Hood, Texas, I was reminded of the collapse of Soviet military morale during their unsuccessful war in Afghanistan.  As most people know, Major Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed 12 fellow soldiers and injured at least another 30 on Thursday, November 5.  Although motives of of terrorism are hinted at today, I wonder if this attack could be less an act of aggression against U.S. policy, and more complicated than his personal unhappiness over being deployed to Iraq?  Might it be a sign that American military morale is getting dangerously low,  that our soldiers are being stretched too thin?  
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Although Hasan was going to Iraq and not Afghanistan, there is the real possibility he could have switched his allegiance from supporting U.S. policy to fighting for the terrorists.  After all, why would he shout "Allahu Akbar!" before opening fire?  We may never find out for sure if he dies.  In the meantime, I will not be surprised if that becomes the official story, while the very serious issue of morale may get pushed to the back burner.  Hopefully we will find out the truth if the shooter survives his injuries.  (He is currently on a ventilator.)
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Collateral damage.
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Spontaneous interviews with civillian personnel and wives of soldiers associated with Ft. Hood suggest that domestic violence and smaller skirmishes between soldiers are not uncommon at the base (and other military bases).  I may be mistaken, but could this be an indicator of low morale amongst soldiers, as well as a precursor to greater violence, such as we witnessed yesterday?  BTW - Ft. Hood is surrounded by the town of Kileen, where a man shot and killed 23 people in 1991.
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Whatever the case, we need to pray for our soldiers and their families, as well as support them - now and when they return as veterans too.  We can never forget the courageous men and women - the living and the dead - who serve our country.
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Photo:  Soviet War Dead:  Afghanistan War monument in Donetsk.

What's so wrong with American nuns?

What's with the Visitation?
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In a nutshell:
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The official that initiated the Vatican's investigation of women religious in the United States admitted this week that the enquiry was fueled by concerns that American nuns had become overly secularized and influenced by feminism.

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Cardinal Franc Rodé told Vatican Radio on Wednesday that his office decided to launch the investigation -- officially called an apostolic visitation -- after hearing "critical voices from the United States"  The cardinal, who is prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, indicated that "an important representative of the Church in the United States" was among the critics.

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He said the representative -- whose identity was not revealed -- had "alerted" him "to some irregularities or deficiencies" in the way the religious sisters were living. "Above all, you could speak of a certain secularist mentality that has spread among these religious families, perhaps even a certain 'feminist' spirit," the cardinal said. - Whispers in the Loggia

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Photo credits:  I don't know - but get this!   Adoro and Cathy are starting a Catholic feminist club modelled after Theology on Tap?  I know!
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An excerpt from the annoucement:    "If you want hard-core REAL Catholic, AUTHENTIC feminism at its best, this is the club you've been waiting for. And it's going to need YOUR help to get it going...  This is about REAL hard-core theology, REAL issues in the Catholic world today, and REAL argument..."
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Catfight!
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H1N1 - conspiracy?

The vaccine - bioweapon?
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This may not get much press except for blogs and a few conservative news sites:  Dr. Teresa Forcades is a Spanish Benedictine nun at the monastery of Sant-Benet, in Monserra-Barcelona. She is a doctor physician specializing in internal medicine, PHD in public health at Barcelona’s university, specializing in the USA at the State University of New York. She gives verifiable scientific data concerning the disturbing irregularities related to this subject of flu pandemic, the restructuring of criteria by WHO to proclaim a pandemic, and what that means to sovereign nations. The information is relevant to all countries, all people.  Click here to watch the video interview with Dr. Forcades.  (It is divided into segments and is quite long, so have patience.)
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I have no idea what to make of this information... but what if?

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Links:
Spanish Doctor reveals information about Swine Flu
The outbreak in Ukraine.
205,00 sick in Ukraine

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Art:  Illumination - The Great Plague

Momento mori

The joy of being forgiven.
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The Lion and the Cardinal is posting amazing images on death this month, be sure to visit.
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Yesterday was my day of recollection and I was able to make my confession.  No matter how often I confess, I now try to do so as if it will be my very last confession - for me, it is a great help to making a good confession.  Imagining the prospect of death helps to rend one's garments as it were - to the point one stands totally naked before God, without excuse or defense except His saving grace and mercy - which rends the heart in loving contrition.
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Art: Requiem Chasuble, Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster, made c1630.  Lion and the Cardinal 

Detail

Triptych of the Epiphany - Hieronymus Bosch
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Some art historians have speculated the half-naked, effeminate figure sporting a crown resembling thorns, stealthily emerging from the stable, represents the Antichrist.  I think so too.
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Reading some of the hate-filled, anti-Catholic rhetoric militant homosexualists are spewing in the wake of the Maine referendum defeating SS marriage,  a gay Antichrist does not seem too far fetched.  (Maine became the 31st state to vote down gay marriage.)

End of life costs...

DOA
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I just had my will done by an attorney - the hourly fee for all of her work - which included a bit more than a simple will: $275.  I'm not complaining, believe me.  But providing for end of life expenses can add up.
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Just like funerals - pre-planning has its advantages I'm sure, but I'm not there yet.  Although I would prefer to be cremated, which is permitted by the Church.  From what I understand, it appears one's body is required for the funeral Mass, and only afterwards may it be cremated, followed by a proper burial in a vault or the ground - and only then in a cemetery.  I have often wondered why however. 
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Why does an intact body have to be preserved for the funeral Mass when the ashes are the complete remains anyway?  I've also wondered why one would have to go through all the expense to be embalmed and processed and packaged by a mortician to be ready for church.  After all, it's an added expense, not to mention a burden for the poor. 
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I suppose I could allow my intact body to be buried if it didn't have to be embalmed, reviewed, or placed in a box or a concrete vault.  I'm fairly certain one doesn't have to be embalmed, but most people seem to be if they are to make a reviewable event out of their funeral.  And of course funeral directors have to sell coffins, or at least arrange the sale of a vault in the ground - for the remains or cremains, makes no difference in Minnesota.  It seems like insider trading to me - the funeral director, the mortician, the church, and the cemetery - all in cahoots...  I probably shouldn't suggest that though. 
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I would prefer to be interred just like the monks of old - a shrouded body lowered into the ground.  Why do secular funerals have to be so elaborate and expensive?  Or do they?
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Anyway, the Italian Bishops are coming up with new guidelines - although I doubt the funeral homes and morticians will be disappointed.  K'ching!   Church in Italy to issue clarification on cremation.
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Oh well, something else I have to take care of.
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Art:  Antoine Joseph Wiertz - The Premature Burial

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