I watched "Julie and Julia" last night.

Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child.

Not much different from Streep's vocal impersonation.

Why?

I don't know.  I like all the actors and I found the DVD at Target for the price of a small coke at the theater, so I thought, 'Why not - TV sucks anyway.'  It's a women's film, isn't it.  Damn!  Fooled again.

I was so bored I almost started to blog instead of watching it.  Haha!  The film is about a blogger hitting the big time.  [She went to Patheos!  Kidding.]  Anyway, I have to say this is Meryl Streep's worst film ever, and based on her over the top vocal impersonation of Julia Child in the film, I am so not going to watch her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher. 

Anyway.  J & J is about a woman and her blog.  The story did help me to understand why people add a Pay Pal app to their blogs, and confirmed for me that blogging is not only sort of a 'job' we invent for ourselves, it is indeed an exercise in narcissism as well... The fight between Julie and her more than understanding hubby proves my point.  Of course, at one time or another in writing about ourselves and what we think - online - we all want to be famous and have a film done on our lives - lives which have become blogs.  But like the film - they're pretty boring - our lives/blogs, I mean.

Christoph Cardinal Schönborn clears up some misunderstandings surrounding his pastoral care ....

A blind eye?

He started it anyway.

Personally, I've always liked Cardinal Schönborn, he has an attractive personality and strikes me as warm and accommodating.  His style of governance seems to demonstrates that.  Sometimes, considering the content of what one reads online is pretty much spare quotes and 'sound-bites' of his talks, and critique of his activities, one can become rather confused as to where the Cardinal actually stands on certain issues of faith and morals.  OSV prints an interview with Cardinal Schönborn wherein he clears the air on some of his more questionable decisions. 

The case of the gay parish council member:

Our Sunday Visitor: Recently in your diocese, a young openly homosexual man was elected to his parish council. Both his election and your decision to allow his election to stand created quite a stir in the media. Could you explain your thinking on that decision and the controversy surrounding it?

Cardinal Schönborn: To begin with, I believe this was a very local situation that certainly did not deserve to be discussed in public, mainly because it is out of the question that the concrete details of the situation be exposed to the public. The only thing I’ve requested of people is that if I make a pastoral decision in a very concrete circumstance they should trust that this decision does not reflect any change in my commitment to Catholic teaching.

The fact is that sometimes we have to live with situations that are objectively disordered, but we do so with the hope that the people are on the way of faith. We are a community of sinners who all need to improve our lives. We all have to take steps to be more completely conformed to the Lord’s teachings. In this particular situation, I have certainty that the young man is on the way of the Christian life and is conforming his life more and more to God’s plan. I was clear with him about the Church’s teaching when I spoke, but we need to have patience. Again, the only thing I request is to trust that I did not make this decision lightly or arbitrarily, and am in no way denying the Church’s teaching on this issue. - OSV

The Cardinal is very kind. 

The fact is that sometimes we have to live with situations that are objectively disordered, but we do so with the hope that the people are on the way of faith. - Schönborn

Is it the German Austrian culture?  Or just the Cardinals from those countries?  I ask after reading this from Cardinal Woelki:

"Commenting on gay men in relationships he said he tried not to see them as just violating natural law but as people trying to take responsibility for each other in lasting partnerships. We must find a way of allowing people to live without going against church teaching," - Woelki

You don't say.  I'm still confused.

I have to believe the issues both cardinals are addressing should be matters of pastoral care limited to individual situations, matters of conscience reserved for the confessional, not a proposed revision of Church teaching.  There already is a way of  'allowing people to live without going against Church teaching':  Chastity according to our state of life, for the single that means observing sexual abstinence, continence, and celibacy.  Likewise, living faithful lives by striving to keep the commandments, nourished by frequent recourse to the sacraments, prayer and good works, and good friendships.  These things are better than 'active participation' in parish life or sitting on any parish council. 

This is an interesting quote (not from a Catholic):

We need, in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers. - Bayard Rustin, Quaker gay activist

 It appears to be working in Germany and Austria.

Pondering the Ever Virgin Mary

Thou art all fair O Mary, and the original stain is not in thee.  O Mary!  Thou art a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up...


"The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it." And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin." - CCC


"Who is this gate (Ezekiel 44:1-4), if not Mary? Is it not closed because she is a virgin? Mary is the gate through which Christ entered this world, when He was brought forth in the virginal birth and the manner of His birth did not break the seals of virginity." (St. Ambrose of Milan, The Consecration of a Virgin and the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, 8:52; c. 391 AD)


"For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth - A woman shall encompass a man." (Jeremiah 31:22).

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

Did I already play this one?

The problem with saints...

This may be an authentic photo of St. Maria Goretti.

Many people seem to have problems with the saints.  They complain some were too pure for them, some too charitable, some too strict, some way too poor or penitential - even their favorite saints, those who most attract them, seem to pose some sort of problem for them from time to time.  Like Therese of Lisieux - "yeah - well she had such a good family and then ended up in a cloister - no wonder she's a saint."  Or Maria Goretti, whose feast it is today - "She was so young and pious - perhaps so scared - no wonder she fought so hard and died, resisting rape."  Or, "Yeah, so she died rather than being raped.  What does that make me who was seduced and abused, but lived to tell about it?"

I think what is going on here a lot of the time is envy.  There is a holy envy one can acquire, which longs to be as close to God as the saints, or to be as pleasing to God as they were.  Although, if we are honest, sometimes that envy may not be so holy as we like to think - it can be a symptom of self love and jealousy.  We recognize it as such because it generally leads to a morbid discouragement - which may end in debilitating sloth - or at least so it seems to me.

Nevertheless, what we find attractive in the saints is their virtue, their love - devotion to God.  That is their holiness - that is what holiness is.  Their charity, the fire of their love, is what attracts us to them - they, the Holy Spirit draws us to them in love.  We can't posses them, nor copy or reproduce their charism in ourselves, by ourselves - not any more than we can possess or acquire, or be what our best friend on earth is.  If we think that, we do not understand friendship, and I think it safe to say our love is self-love, and our devotion becomes self-seeking.

The saints are full of charity, the more perfect they are, the more they understand our weakness and compassionate our imperfection - they are drawn to us.  They are presented to our deepest attraction for good by the Holy Spirit to be a friend and companion - not a competitor or someone to put us down. 

This past week, on July 4th, we observed the memorial of Pier Giorgio Frassati.  A young saint - he died so young, and accomplished much, hidden from his family and the praise of men.  He was angelic in his purity, perfect in his obedience - everything that I am not.  My devotion to him was not impeded by my own sinfulness and failures, or his youth and perfection - to the contrary.  I was immediately attracted to his spirit and he became my best friend ever since I saw a photo of him one day, shortly after his beatification.  He was pure, I was not.  Was I jealous?  Heavens no.  Just the opposite.

I'm not saying this well at all, I know, but think of it like this:  If your predominant fault was dishonesty, and you were suffering from temptations to steal, would you go to a known thief for advice or help to combat this vice?  Or would you ask a saint who never ever committed that sin himself, yet maybe forgave those who once robbed him of his reputation in life, and thus reached a high degree of virtue and sanctity and became a saint?  If you were troubled by violent temptations and struggled with habitual sins against chastity - would you go to a prostitute to advise or guide you, or beg the most pure and unsullied saint to come to your aid, strengthen you in temptation, and accompany you after your sin on the way back to confession?

It seems to me a common mistake is that we want the saints to be just like us - or we want saints like ourselves - damaged, broken, neurotic - with movie star looks; but I think that is self-love and even a form of covetousness.  I don't know how to explain it better.  But it seems to me it is healthier to want to be with friends more virtuous than ourselves, those who can and are willing to help us grow in virtue, not those who bring us down.

Anyway - it's dumb to be jealous or resentful towards the saints.  When we feel like that, it's not their problem, or God's problem - but ours.  It stems from our inordinate self love.  Self love and pride go together... leading to rivalry, sloth, contempt for spiritual things, rancor, discouragement - and of course, envy and sadness at the success of others - in this case, the saints.  

I may be wrong of course.  And to be sure - it is completely normal and not a sin if we find we are not attracted or particularly devoted to every saint.  Saints are people too, you know.  There are people you may not be attracted to or even like.

But don't listen to me - ask your spiritual director or confessor about such things, I'm just talkin'.

St. Maria appears to her attacker/murderer, Alessandro.

Perhaps this image helps in what I was trying to say.

The little Saint appeared to the man who

killed her and assured him of her love and

forgiveness.  What greater encouragement

do we need to approach the saints and Our Lady,

even if our sins be like scarlet?

Bishop Cordileone - straight talker.

“Marriage is about fundamental justice for children,” he said. “Children do best with a mother and a father.” - Bishop Cordileone

Bishop Cordileone is one of my very favorite bishops in the United States.  Why?  Because he's a straight talker - he teaches Catholic doctrine clearly and distinctly, in direct language anyone can understand - and he does so with genuine charity and concern for the welfare of contemporary men, women and children.  In defending the family, he defends the Faith.

Washington D.C., Jul 3, 2012 / 04:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The legalization of “gay marriage” in America, even on a civil level, is unjust to children and poses a threat to religious liberty, warned Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of Oakland, Calif.

“Marriage is the only institution we have that connects children to their mothers and fathers,” he said. “So really, the question is, do you support that institution?”

In a June interview with CNA, Bishop Cordileone, who leads the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, explained that Church teaching against the redefinition of marriage on a civil level as well as a sacramental level is a matter of justice. 

He acknowledged that advocates of “same-sex marriage” point to studies that appear to indicate that children can do just as well with two parents of the same sex as with two parents of the opposite sex.

However, he called much of this research “flawed” and pointed to a recent article published in the leading peer-reviewed journal, “Social Science Research.” The article analyzed the 59 studies on the topic used by American Psychological Association and found that they were problematic because they utilized self-selecting or “small, non-representative samples” of the population.

In contrast, he said, a recent social science study conducted at the University of Texas at Austin – entitled “The New Family Structures Study” – examined a very large, nationally-representative and random sample of American young adults who were raised in different family environments, including with same-sex couples and with their married, biological parents.

The study measured various areas of wellbeing, including social and economic condition, psychological and physical health and sexual identity and behavior. It found significant differences between the individuals raised by their married biological parents and those raised in other situations, and “in no area were children better off in an alternative arrangement.”

Based on sound social science, this study complements common sense and “demonstrates what we’ve always known,” Bishop Cordileone said. “Children do best with a mother and a father.”

The bishop explained that this issue is of crucial importance because “we cannot have two different definitions of marriage simultaneously in the country.”

“Only one definition of marriage can stand,” he said. “This is not expanding the right of marriage. It’s changing the definition, or taking away something is essential to marriage – that it’s the union of a man and a woman for the purpose of the binding of the two and the procreation and education of the next generation of offspring.”

Bishop Cordileone also warned that the redefinition of marriage poses a serious threat to religious freedom. This is not merely a potential threat, he said, but one that is already being manifest in numerous ways.

For example, he observed, Catholic Charities agencies in numerous archdioceses have already been forced out of the adoption business because they believed it was best to place children only with a mother and a father.

The “rights of conscience and parental rights” are also at risk, particularly when it comes to education of children. - Read more.

Just last month Bishop Cordileone was asking for an oath of fidelity to Catholic teaching from CALGM, the Catholic Association of Lesbian and Gay Ministries. They refused.  The Bishop has since declared the association 'not authentically Catholic'.  Fr. Malloy of The Shepherd's Voice reported on that story here: Bishop Cordileone Requests Fidelity From Homosexual Activists--They Refuse.

And another thing...

I also want pull this section from the main article/interview I linked to, as it is something I've also been saying all along as well - it has to do with "how'd we get into this mess anyway?"

"Bishop Cordileone then emphasized that “gay marriage” is not an isolated problem but is rather connected to the broader issue of misunderstanding sexuality.

“This isn’t a new threat to marriage,” he explained. “It’s a huge problem, and it’s gone on for decades.”

He noted that the advent of the birth control pill led to an “explosion of contraception” that “divorced procreation from the conjugal act.” Other erosions to marriage quickly followed, including no-fault divorce, which was “a huge blow to marriage,” and experimenting with “open marriages.”

Suddenly, the traditional marks of marriage – fidelity, permanence and openness to children – were all gone, he said. Eventually, this led to a culture of “widespread promiscuity” as sex lost its meaning, a phenomenon that was serious “facilitated” by the common use of contraception.

Now, the bishop pointed out, marriage is seen merely as being about the legal benefits offered to the individuals entering into it, rather than as “a child-centered institution.”
But if marriage is simply about intimate relationships between adults, he asked, “why should the law even get involved at all?”

He observed that there is no real governmental reason to recognize sexual relationships between adults." - Source

Exactamundo! 
Pray for our Bishops.

H/T Ray at Stella

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

ZZ Top's entire Eliminator album here!

The rapidly growing threat to religious liberty.

You'll come to know
... when the bullet hits the bone...

What a blessing it is that more and more voices - in and outside the Church - are being raised to point out the escalating threats against religious liberty facing Christians in the West.  Now - after years of more or less subtle discrimination, misrepresentation and mockery of Christianity from media - especially the entertainment industry.  The ACLU along with our educational system fomenting an absolute separation of church and state mentality over the past decades has contributed in no small way to making religion irrelevant in public discourse, as well as inconsequential to popular culture and morality.


“It starts with intolerance which is a cultural phenomenon.”

Anyway - I found the following on CNA - the good news is that more and more people are beginning to notice - and point it out:

Rome, Italy, Jul 4, 2012 / 04:05 am (CNA).- The head of Italy's new religious liberty watchdog group warned that present threats of “discriminatory legislation” in the U.S. could eventually result in violence against Christians in America.

“In a climate of discrimination, it is possible that somebody will act upon that discrimination to say ‘the laws are not enough’ and resort to actual violence and this is the realms of hate crimes,” Professor Massimo Introvigne told CNA June 28.

The inaugural meeting was held at Rome’s Foreign Press Association June 28. It heard Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore make the case that religious liberty in the United States is currently imperiled by the prevailing culture as well as by legislation such as the recent Department of Health & Human Services mandate.

Introvigne stressed that he did not want to create a “false impression” that he was equating “the bloody persecution of Christians” as presently occurs in some African and Asian countries with “discriminatory legislation in the United States or Europe.”

However, the 57-year-old sociologist suggested that there was a “three stage process” which could lead to anti-Christian violence in the West if action to protect religious liberty was not taken.

“It starts with intolerance which is a cultural phenomenon,” he explained “and then if intolerance becomes so widespread and popular, some politicians will act upon it and introduce discriminatory legislation.”

It is in this “climate of discrimination,” he said, that people can decide to take the law into their own hands and use violence to further suppress Christianity. - CNA

Fostering a 'climate of discrimination'.

One such example may be those activities promoted by gay activists and those promoting same sex marriage, a group calling themselves Catholics for Equality.  I get periodic emails from them protesting the U.S. Catholic Bishop's involvement in the Fortnight for Freedom and the defense of Marriage debates.  They claim the Bishops are hurting the Church and alienating Catholics, as well as overstepping their bounds in speaking out against the escalating threats to religious freedom.  Their campaign slogan: "Bishops: We Need Pastors, Not Politicians. Your Antics are Hurting the Church."  Claiming:

The USCCB's "Fortnight for Freedom" 2012 election year campaign marks an unprecedented level of political activity for the institutional American Catholic Church. Catholic Bishops across the country are unabashedly demanding our priests and parishes use the pulpit and the Liturgy of the Mass to engage in partisan election year campaigning. Catholics in the pews overwhelmingly oppose this and are making our voices heard in the streets where we cannot be silenced.

The irony here is that it is their organization and their antics which is hurting the Church, and posing a greater threat to religious freedom.  They are cooperating with evil, and promoting dissent, thus contributing to a culture of religious intolerance.

The Fortnight is over - now what?  Pray the rosary every day.  And:

 Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore believes that the fight for religious liberty has not been damaged the Supreme Court’s ruling that President Obama’s Affordable Care Act is constitutional.  “So don’t give up, don’t imagine that all is lost, it’s not,” he said, adding that “the struggle is fresh, important and more vital than ever.”

Authenticity

It is a gift to be simple...

There is perhaps no more difficult and delicate task for the director than the guidance of Christians called to a life of interior prayer.  This is rendered all the more arduous by the fact that there is so much pious nonsense written, printed, and said, about 'mystics,' 'victim souls' and other such categories...  The whole problem comes from the inordinate reflection upon self that is generated by the consciousness of 'degrees of prayer' and steps on the 'mountain of love.' ... What possible good can be done for a monk by deciding whether or not his contemplation is 'infused'? - Merton, Spiritual Direction and Meditation


Photo: Ken at Hallowed Ground

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

It's so hot outside. Thoughts...

Our Lady of Lipa

It is so hot I think the atmosphere may explode. 

My plants are literally burning in the sun.

I went out front to water pots and two pit bulls on leashes came up to drink from the hose.  Their master looked like a zombie to me - and he growled at them to get away and follow him - despite the fact he was not holding their leash.  I wasn't afraid though.

It is really hot.

I have the sprinkler going in the shade garden for the birds and critters to cool themselves. 

I keep thinking of the people without power or air conditioning. 

This is the effects of climate change 'they' tell us...

The climate has changed, that's for sure.  I have no problem with climate change theories - just the politics of it - and the theories which go along with that to end population growth and oppress people and regulate existence by Godless people.

I'm not going to do fireworks this year - I'll wait for the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel to use them instead.  Neapolitans do that too.

Pray to Our Lady.

The Fortnight is over, but I never heard much attention paid to Our Lady throughout the past two weeks.  The Blessed Virgin is the patroness of our country, she is Mediatrix of All Grace, Co-Redmptrix, Queen of All Nations, Queen of the World.  Now the Fortnight is over, but I haven't heard much attention paid to Our Lady.  No 'entrustments', no 'consecrations', no rosary crusades or novenas.  Are we Catholics?  Or not?

Pray to Our Lady.

In gratitude to the Blessed Virgin Mary, for prayers answered.

Missing 5-year old Wisconsin boy, Scotty Meyer found safe.

About 1,000 people and lines of cars gathered outside the home of a missing 5-year-old boy near Prescott. Volunteers spent hours searching yesterday, and officials now say Scotty Meyer has been found safe.

Other than some mosquito bites and lack of water, officials say Scotty was doing fine. He was reportedly found near Phillips plastic by the bluffs area by volunteer Jason Moser and his dog, a golden retriever named Autumn. The area is about a half mile from his home.
Scotty has autism and disappeared from his family home in Oak Grove, Wis., Tuesday before noon.

Officials organized the search operation at a command post near the Meyer’s home. They sent volunteers home overnight, but about 20 people – including law enforcement, airplanes, and firefighters – still working tirelessly Wednesday to find Scotty.

Scotty is the youngest of three boys with autism. He can hear and sometimes makes sounds, but he doesn’t speak. He was last believed to be out in the front yard of his home at N4842 1165th Street.

Scotty’s mom thinks he snuck out when an air conditioning repairman was coming and going at the home before noon. The search started soon after.

People drove in to help – some on ATVs, others on foot or even horseback. The area has a difficult terrain with cornfields and steep river bluffs not far off. Some searchers were even taken away by ambulance for heat exhaustion.

In thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, for prayers granted. 

Luxuria and effeminacy and ______

Detail - Bosch

Like a dream one wakes from...

I was awakened during the night and those words came to mind. Medievals connected the three vices.

Curious.  I then thought of Our Lady instructing B. Jacinta: "Avoid luxury*..." 

Then, as if still dreaming, another thought occurred to me that all of our luxury and convenience can be wiped out in an instant.  In an instant life can change ...

I couldn't sleep and so I got up to do a quick check online.  Luxuria was once the word for, and subsequently is associated with lust.  Luxuria is the root of our word luxury, which pretty much means to indulge oneself - right?  Wiki defines luxuria this way:

Lust or lechery (carnal "luxuria") is an intense desire. It is usually thought of as excessive sexual wants, however the word was originally a general term for desire. Therefore lust could involve the intense desire of money, fame, or power as well. - source

Now I'm sleepy.

*"Flee riches and luxury."

Detroit may become Zombie theme park named ...

Z-Land!

The former J.L. Hudson Dept. Store, Downtown Detroit,

future home of Z-Land.  I know!

It's like a dream come true for so many!

Derelict areas of Detroit face being taken over by hordes of 'flesh and brain-eating zombies' if an ambitious business plan takes off.

Entrepreneur Mark Siwak wants to create live-action terror theme park 'Z World' on Motor City's run-down and abandoned streets.

Customers would pay to be chased by professional actors and try to seek shelter in ghostly homes, factories and businesses.

Curbed Detroit blogger Sarah Cox said the plan 'sounds a lot like all that fun we had during the 1960s race riots'.

She added: 'It's nice to know Z Land is finally going to capitalise on our love of adrenaline rushes and nostalgia. Now even visitors from the 'burbs can 'wonder if they will make it through the night.' - Source

I'm told this is the Mayor's mansion.

Happy 4th of July, Motown!  Eat your heart out Wally World. 

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

Oops!  Wrong song?  Happy 4th of July anyway!

I feel like I'm on vacation!

The Birthers were right after all: Obama to celebrate the 4th with naturalization ceremony.

Wouldn't you know the MSM would downplay the event:

President Obama will celebrate July 4 tomorrow at the White House with a naturalization ceremony, the White House announced today.  The president will be joined by Department of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano. - Source

I'd rather Napolitano just deport him.

Never mind.

The Monk...

When the Son of Man returns will he find any?

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

Holiday on ice! 4th of July Week!

...............................    when you see through loves illusions ...

Friends and me.

Many people are on vacation this week, or their power is out - which is awful - not just because of the heat, but they probably can't get online to comment on Larry's blog either!  Well, that's not true, because they have wireless, right?  But what's the wireless wired to?  Or isn't it?  Is this on?  Hello?  Hmmmmmm... the line is dead.  Who is they?

What?

Someone once said to me, "Terry, your blog is so unusual because you write such weird things - amidst serious postings, you come out with the weirdest stuff."

Whatever.

Me.

So anyway, I was looking through some photographs last night after Night Prayer...  Reminds me of a song...

Looking through some photographs I found inside a drawer
I was taken by a photograph of you
There were one or two I know that you would have liked a little more
But they didn't show your spirit quite as true

You were turning 'round to see who was behind you
And I took your childish laughter by surprise
And at the moment that my camera happened to find you
There was just a trace of sorrow in your eyes

That was it.  I saw a trace of sorrow in my friends' eyes - and a deeper sense in my own.  I have finally lost contact with most of them, save for one or three.  I noted those lapses in our friendship as I was looking through the albums, I have the albums of a friend, they are not mine.  I was away from them for various reasons and returned only on occasion - staying but for awhile at each interval.  That made me feel sad - in a way - thinking I had missed out on stuff they did while I was in the monastery, in Europe, living in Boston, in a relationship, and so on.  I'm not sure I missed out so much as it seems to me I never quite fit in.  I always felt a sort of connection however, a genuine fondness.

In between takes.

I still do... but

Now the things that I remember seem so distant and so small
Though it hasn't really been that long a time
What I was seeing wasn't what was happening at all

There's this loneliness springing up from your life
Like a fountain from a pool

Fountain of sorrow, fountain of light
You've known that hollow sound of your own steps in flight...

Today's readings at Mass kind of helped me put things in perspective... never having a place to lay my head... I need to let the dead bury their dead...


Lyrics:  Fountain of Sorrow, Jackson Browne

The calla lilies are in bloom again...

They're hostas actually ...

Everything is a bit fuzzy - it was a very warm and humid evening.  The two large pots contain rose trees, and the back pots flanking St. Joseph are red geraniums.  I let the grass grow longer for drought, and the hedges are getting hairy once again - combined with the hosta blooms, everything looks wild and crazy.

Bonus:  Springtime shot of the climbing roses in bloom.

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

 

I don't know why, but this reminds me of my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.  I suppose maybe because I hitch hiked and didn't walk the entire distance... I know.  Leaving San Sebastian, overlooking the Bay of Biscay... 

I like this.

I once wanted to be a lounge singer. 

And he said: "If I come to the door, don't answer it!"

Givenchy Meswear, Fall 2012

Mass Chat: Don't do that...

Going up for a blessing at Communion time - again?

It used to annoy me - mainly because laity cannot bless in the same way a priest or deacon does - even when you wave the host around as if blessing someone - you can't - and should not do that.  A lay person is not authorized to bless with the Blessed Sacrament.  Touching people's heads - or laying on hands isn't a good idea for food handlers, so why do EM'sHC do it?  It used to bother me - when I let it bother me - then I got over it, and now I generally don't care - but the practice is dumb, nonetheless.  At the end of Mass we all are blessed at the final blessing - and one doesn't even need to cross arms over the chest to receive it.  That said...  Communion time is not Billy-Graham-come-forward-at-the-Crusade time.  Can someone please teach this stuff?

More to the point, I read today how a former alcoholic - recovering alcoholic, abstains from drinking from the cup after the reception of the host, and instead goes to the the cup, arms crossed over the breast, bows, and receives a blessing.  Personal piety aside, that is setting another bad example. 

Why? First of all, it is not necessary to receive under both species.  Secondly, as every Catholic should know, when we receive either the sacred host, or the precious blood, be it only the smallest fragment of the body, or the slightest drop of the precious blood, we receive the entire body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.  It is really that simple. 

Don't be making up new rituals.

***

Bonus chat:  I also noted the American flag was placed front and forward this weekend.  Though we are coming up on the 4th of July, and concern for religious freedom aside, I'm wondering if the Church isn't getting too political?

Oh!  Oh!  And a big thank you to Michael Voris for wrecking "Amazing Grace" for me - a song I used to be able to tolerate until his spiel about how bad it is.  His tirade comes to mind everytime they use the song at Mass: Nice way to foster negative feelings at the beginning of Mass, Mike.  Yes, I blame you for that.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Teresa of Jesus

Feast of the Precious Blood of Jesus

Blood and water flowing from the side of Christ, I trust in you.

One-a-Day: Greatest hits.

 RIP

One more...