The feast of St. Teresa of Avila

Doctor of the Church

Mystical Doctor of the Church that she is, she had a very homely manner of writing, a wit that shows through even in her loftiest works. The digressions she indulges in as she wrote her autobiography dramatize her personal style while lending us ever new and revealing insight into her personality, that some have described as vivacious. Curious term for a contemplative nun.

On another blog a discussion has a come up regarding whether or not women should be declared Doctors of the Church. Not surprisingly, an SSPX bishop raised the question. For some reason a few uber-trads seem to reject most of the saints and blesseds, and apparently now female Doctors, who have been proclaimed such since the Council. Of course, trads do not follow the new liturgical calendar anyway, so how much difference does it make? (I'll have to explore that.)

Nevertheless, this reminded me of the post I did last year, on the humor of Teresa of Avila. last year - just for fun - I came up with an idea of a sit-com based upon St. Teresa's life. I immediately thought of Bea Arthur ("Maud", "Golden Girls") in the role of Teresa, with Christine Baranski ("Cybil Shepard Show", "The Birdcage") as the Princess of Eboli. They could spar over her writings as they did in real life - only make it funnier - wasn't it the Princess who had an eye-patch - or am I getting my nobility mixed up? Actually, the sit-com could focus on the Princess, after the death of her husband, when she entered the monastery of Pastrana, and became the source of so much grief - now that's a show.

In one scene, Teresa could be traveling to make another foundation, the coach falling in the river, Bea Arthur, with her dead pan humor, looking up to heaven, as in the photo above, saying, "No wonder you have so few friends when you treat them like this." Then guffaws of canned laughter. The entire production could be done similarly to the British sit-com, "Absolutely Fabulous!"

Uber-trads wouldn't be happy with that either.

[Edited from an earlier post.]

90th Anniversary of the miracle at Fatima.

The first reading from today's Mass reminded me of the miracle at Fatima. It seemed providential to have this reading for the 13th of October.

"Sun and moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their brightness..." - Joel 4

I wondered why Heaven chooses to reveal these things to children, and not to the Bishops or the Pope. It seems to me it would be easier if the Pope would be the one to speak the requests of Our Lady, perhaps everyone would listen then. Maybe not. And as we know, sometimes Bishops don't speak up when they ought to.

Elena of Tea At Trianon has a good post on the events of October 13, 1917.

Many people claim to have seen the miracle of the sun at other contemporary alleged apparition sites. I guarantee you - whatever they saw was not on the magnitude of what went on in Fatima 90 years ago today.

Does someone really have to tell you?

Do parents have to be told their kids are fat?

DENVER – In an effort to combat the problem of childhood obesity, the Denver Public School District is sending home student health reports to keep parents informed. However, one parent says it should not have been sent home in her daughter's backpack because she read it.

"The part that upset her the most as she started reading it, there it stated that she was overweight and she started to cry saying, 'Mom, that school tells me I'm fat.' So, it was very heart wrenching," said Flaurette Martinez. - School sends home obesity notices on students.

This must mean the girl didn't know she was fat before the notice?

(Photo: Not the girl in the story.)

Contraception...

You must read this post, "Did I Kill My Little Girl?"

What follows is an excerpt:

A few years ago, I was involved in a "long-term relationship", and we used contraception. I remember my willful ignorance, most of which I gained from "informed" sources, even when that information was contradicted. I had a roommate, a left-wing liberal Democrat social worker, who told me that contraception does, in fact, cause abortions. It does this because contraception cannnot necessarily suppress ovulation. And if ovulation occurs, and a child is conceived, that zygote cannot be implanted. Contraception makes the womb uninhabitable and flushes the new life out and away and into death. - Adoro

Art: "Drawing of a Young Girl" by Adoro.

Just a heads up for Cathy...

NASCAR cooties

House Homeland Security Committee staffers are on a peculiar mission to study "public health issues at events involving mass gatherings," which has personally insulted Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord, North Carolina.

The event: NASCAR.

The rub: the requirement that the Democrat and Republican staffers attending first be immunized against Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and influenza.

"I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, North Carolina, I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," Mr. Hayes, a Republican, said in a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat and committee chairman.

"I have been to numerous NASCAR races, and the folks who attend these events certainly do not pose any health hazard to congressional staffers or anyone else," Mr. Hayes said. - Fishwrap News

Who is this blogger?

Go here to find out - she's pretty smart too. (Hint: She signs her comments "Swiss Miss" as if the photo didn't give that away!)

FRIDAY penitential update: My apologies Monica. I have no training in photo shop, but I used paint to make you more modest. Now you are all presentable for Fr. Altier.

Cathy at home...

Cathy in her couch dress, all snuggled up - just watchin' football.

(Thanks for the photo Jeron!)

Clerical dog collars...

I've never heard them called that before - it must be a British thing. Although the above clerical collar is not what has been in the news recently. It seems advisers to the Church in the UK are warning clerics not to wear their collars in public for fear of being assaulted. I doubt this is a very big problem with clergy of the American Church - many older priests rarely wear clerics. They already know the prejudice against priests because of the abuse scandals of recent years. Many good priests suffer because of the crimes of a few.

My family.

There is nothing to blog about so I thought I'd post a photo of my family. We weren't always this happy, but it is a nice picture, don't you agree?

Racey...

For Talladega - it was very free of incident.

Meme...meme...meme...me...me...

Titling this post, I realized Memes are all about me - so you would think that I could be more cooperative in responding to them. I think Salve Regina is the first person to pass this meme along, then Angela Messenger. There is nothing to blog about, so I'll do it today.

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?

I attend the Novus Ordo Mass. I grew up with the TLM and have assisted at the TLM a few times in recent years. The local parish that currently offers the Mass is several miles away and the Mass is late morning. I prefer to attend Mass very early in the morning, after my daily Lectio Divina. This may sound strange, but I completely accept the teaching of the Church that the Novus Ordo is a valid, licit Mass.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?

I covered that in the last question - it seems like 300 miles.

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?

Roman Catholic.

4. Are you a comment junkie?

Kinda, sorta. I would like at least 78 comments per post.

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?

Sometimes, especially if I'm having fun with the blogger. However, if I place a serious comment, it isn't for the sake of argument - I say what I want to and that is it - it wasn't a question. I usually think of my posts in the same way.

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?

Kinda, sorta. Only when I'm playing with someone who knows me - then I leave celebrity names - and they know it is me. I think nasty anonymous comments are cheap shots - and hypocritical - they are like sucker punches.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?

The people I link to.

8. Which blog is the first one you check?

Tea at Trianon or Cathy and Angie, then Ray for the local news.

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?

Yes - in court at the defamation hearings.

10. What are you reading?

I'm still working on "Bergdorf Blondes". I want to reread Vanna White's autobiography when I finish.

me and my brother...

Thanks to Vincenzo!

Soup to nuts

Stan Laurel in the dinner scene from "Soup To Nuts". (The soup bowls had nothing in them, but the guests were eating. LOL!)

TMI

Too much information.

That is my only conclusion after going through a few blogs tonight. I read a rad trad blog and then a progressivist blog, and a couple in between. It all seems meaningless to me.

{Art: Bosch, "Ship of Fools"]

Wedding pics

Oh well, it was just a civil ceremony.

106 million!

Every home should have one.

I heard on the news there is now 106 million blogs on the Internet - and growing every day. (Isn't there a TV show about desperate housewives?) So everyone must have a blog now.

Anytime anything goes mainstream, it's over then.

[Except for June Cleaver - this is the best blog by a wife and mother ever - sorry Marge.]

Good byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I haven't been answering emails or the phone. What's so wrong with that? (Little Freak called me and I answered his call though. He is so good. Pray for his wife right now - she is in hospital and 6 weeks from her due date.)

Did you ever see the Laurel and Hardy episode when they were all in the car and everyone kept saying good bye to each other but the car wasn't going anyplace? Well that is my situation. I'm here, I'm not going anyplace and nothing is new.

Transitus

The Transitus of our Holy Father, St. Francis of Assisi.

A funny story...

You light up my life.

When I lived in Boston I became friends with a man who was planning to enter monastic life. He was very devout and frequented the same adoration chapels as I did. One night we were out for supper - he wanted to treat me. After dinner, whereat he had insisted he bore the stigmata, and I tried to convince him otherwise, we were walking to the trolley to go our separate ways. Suddenly he started to sing Debbie Boon's song, "You Light Up My Life".

I never liked to be sung to, my Dad used to do it when he was drunk, so I was embarrassed for my friend. After he finished serenading me he said, "Terry, that's how I feel about you." I realized he was gay and had a huge crush on me. I proceeded to explain to him the monastic notion of inordinate affections and friendship. He seemed to take it well.

I never saw him again.

[This post was prompted after hearing the same song on television tonight. Sorry - I'm OCD about at least one post a day.]

The 110th Anniversary of the death of St. Therese.

St. Therese of Lisieux died on this date at 7:20 in the evening in 1897.

Enclosure veils

Carmelite nun with enclosure veil.

The kids and Halloween...

Oh, those kids!

Both Aggie and Celine are already excited about Halloween. We were out shopping this morning and all of the stores already have everything out for the big holiday. So the girls are busy planning their costumes.

Aggie hasn't made up her mind as to what she'll be yet, but she is thinking of dressing up as The Crescat - you know, Carolina Canonball, but Kat seems to have lost her format on her blog and Agnes can't find the picture she wants to dress up as. Her second choice is to dress up as Professor McGonagall's cat, Animagus - from Harry Potter of course.

While Aggie is clever, Celine is a bit more creative. Last year she was Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, but this year she wants to dress up as Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig. I like that idea.

The holidays come so fast, don't they?

School Nurse

Invasive School Officials.

Everything was going fine until I get this call from the School Nurse. She called to inform me that she is concerned that both Agnes and Celine have an eating disorder. (I don't know how she can know this after only two weeks in school.) She explained it to me.

The nurse, Mrs. Buddig said the other kids have noticed that Aggie throws up after she eats anything, and since she is so much thinner than Celine, the nurse believes Aggie has bulimia. On the other hand, she said Celine eats all of the time, even in class, and she is overweight. Duh! I knew that.

I said, "My dear Mrs. Buddig, I know the eating habits of my kids and there is nothing wrong with them. Aggie throws up because she doesn't want to get fat like Celine. Celine just likes to eat - it's all baby fat and she will loose the weight when she feels like it. There is nothing wrong with my girls."

Mrs. Buddig answered, "Mr. Nelson, there is obviously something wrong with your girls and I strongly recommend you get a doctor's advice on the matter."

I just said, "Yeah, Okay - I'll take care of it." and I hung up. I think there is a prejudice against single dads at that school.

(Photo: Mrs. Buddig - she should talk.)

I knew this family.

The cause for sainthood has been opened for the mother of this family, Gwen Coniker. I certainly believe it is warranted.

Candidates for the Presidential Nomination

Do you know who they are?

I commented on another blog that few people have even heard of some of the more conservative candidates, such as Ron Paul, or Sam Brownback and so on. If it wasn't for certain blogs and conservative websites, I would never know who these guys are. Most people get their news via popular media, especially network news, and these guys get barely a mention. I imagine if some of them get a large enough following, their views may influence the platforms of the only two significant political parties in this country, although I have to wonder about that as well.

I'm reminded of Ross Perot, who made a decent enough showing at the polls several years ago, but that was the extent of it. Does anyone remember him?

[Photo: Ron Paul]

Do you know about Old Catholics?

Old Catholics.

No, not elderly Catholics, but the schismatic sect known as Old Catholics. They date back to the 17th century. Their orders are valid, but illicit. It is my understanding that in a grave emergency, or if a Roman Catholic was in danger of death, the Old Catholic sacraments are valid. The Wild Reed has an interesting post on Old Catholics and their history, including an in-depth interview with Fr. Robert Caruso, a local Old Catholic priest. (Ed: The site is pro-gay, so if that offends you, use the Wikipedia links below for information on "Old Catholics". Neverthelesss, it is a good interview and not focused upon pro-gay issues.)

Old Catholics (Wiki link) should not be confused with the SSPX (Wiki link) or any sedevacantist group (Wiki link). (For instance, the Old Catholic church ordains women.) In the United States they are much more liberal than the most dissident of Roman Catholic churches, while they remain distinct from the so-called Liberal Catholic Church (Wiki link), which has no connection with the Roman Catholic Church whatsoever. In these confusing times, I believe it is good to know the differences.

[Photo: Ordination in an Old Catholic church.]

Mother Teresa

It was something she said:

"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway."

"Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway."

"There is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness, and this is the great poverty that makes people suffer so much." - Bl. Teresa of Calcutta

[It turns out the first two paragraphs are not original to Mother. My friend David sent me the original source: http://www.enotalone.com/article/4991.html]

Sister Mary Charles McGough

+ Sister Mary Charles McGough OSB +

On Sunday, 2 September, Sister Mary Charles McGough OSB died at St. Scholastica Monastery <http://www.duluthbenedictines.org/ministries_arts.php>, Duluth, Minnesota. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from Notre Dame University, and received training as an iconographer from the St. John Damascus Sacred Art Academy in Ligonier, PA.

She was an experienced artist in other media as well. Sister Mary Charles was proficient in woodcut prints, watercolor, and ceramic sculpture. Her iconography follows the Byzantine style.

Sister Mary Charles completed many large commissions for churches and religious houses such as; St. Paul Priory, St. Paul; St. Olaf's Church, Minneapolis; Glastonbury Abbey, Hingham, Mass.; St. Michael Monastery, Elkhorn, Nebraska; and St. Andrew's Church, Brainerd, Minnesota.

Visitation will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, and the Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, 7 September, both in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at the monastery in Duluth.

(Thank you David for this obituary.)

The silence of God.

"There was silence in heaven..." Revelation 8:1

The Holy Father said today that Mother Teresa suffered the "silence of God". He explained that some souls experience the silence of God in order to better understand the dilemma faced by unbelievers. The linked article also mentions the Holy Father's statement at Auschwitz when he said the holocaust was a time when God was silent.

"All believers know about the silence of God," he said in unprepared remarks. "Even Mother Teresa, with all her charity and force of faith, suffered from the silence of God," he said. - Reuters

Sit-coms should only run a couple of seasons.

Short runs are better.

I've always thought that most sit-coms should only run a few seasons, since the writing generally gets so bad after an extensive run. "Seinfeld" was an exception - the writing got better and better - except the finale bombed. Remember "Mad About You"? I loved it until the kid came a long - way to wreck a good show; have a baby. "Friends" got pretty bad after awhile - but since they were my only friends, it was hard to say good-bye. British sit-coms seem to run a few seasons only, such as my favorite classic, "Faulty Towers" - I still watch it on tape. The best sit-coms were short-lived. "Designing Women", "Square Pegs", "Cybil", I better not go on - these are all really old sit-coms.

Anyway, I think blogs are like sit-coms in that respect. I only visit about 7 or 8 blogs regularly, and maybe 3 or 4 daily. That's kind of a lot. I don't really know how many visit my blogs - I have the neo-counter but hate the scrolling so I never wait to see the total. I have SiteMeter, but I've never installed it. Whatever, I don't think I get that many visitors -except when I post about the Legionaries of Christ - I should make each comment I 've received on the Legion a post - hey! that's an idea!

The Internet is a curse however, or is it just the blog that is evil? Since I have started blogging I have lost touch with the real world. I lost interest in my job and quit. I lost touch with family and friends - okay - I was never in touch with them. I hardly go out to social functions - okay - that is all the same as well. I know - I don't watch TV like I used to do. Of course TV sucks because they cancelled all the good sitcoms. Anyway - I've lost my life to blogging!

I read too much news on line and miss the TV news where hardly anything is ever reported. But it was nice, it limited my scope and formed my opinion. I was so much more open to the idea of say, war with Iraq and nuking Iran. Oh, that's right, National News doesn't carry the nuke Iran story - yet. But you know what I mean.

As far as Catholic stuff goes, I was pretty darn happy not knowing about all the liturgical abuses and other crap that goes on in the Church. When you blog and surf other sites, you find out about accusations of bishops pilfering money (Bp. Pilla), or getting beat up in a domestic situation (Bp. Pellote), or some priest running around the neighborhood naked.

Speaking of gay, I don't think for a minute that Senator Craig is gay. Why can't we take a man at his word? He told us he isn't gay. He should have simply told the press, (ala George Michael's "this is what gay people do!") "Get over it, this is what bi-sexuals do!" Doesn't the "B" in GLBT stand for bi-sexual? And shouldn't GLBT people and their supporters be coming to Craig's defense? That includes Republican and Democrat politicians. Talk about hypocrisy. (Again, LOL!)

I'm burnt out on the gay thing though. And all of the Church weirdness gets old too. Especially the coffee and donuts non-issues; like talking in Church, what people are wearing, leaving Mass early, Communion in the hand, altar girls, female ushers, big bosom-ed cantors, etc.. And I can't stay interested in all that ordinary versus extraordinary stuff, who agrees or disagrees. I better stop with that subject however - some people have devoted their lives and blogs - in some cases they seem to be synonymous- to these issues.

It seems my writing has become more labored and cautious however. When I first started out, I just wrote whatever I thought about. I was much freer. After a year and a half of writing - which I've made a creative substitute for painting I guess (LOL!) - I feel more restrained - nay, restricted. I don't like that. I'm always worried about getting people upset - you know, some of the church ladies - male or female.

Once again, I'm thinking about cutting back or even quitting the blog. Although, on Abbey 2 there is a calendar of days which shows the dates I don't post. I'm kind of OCD about that - I hate it when a day shows up that I missed a post - it's like a time clock thing in a way - so I almost feel compelled to post something each day. (That's okay though, Adoro.) I don't know what I'll end up doing. Probably posting this will occasion a flurry of posts - a veritable renaissance. Every time I think of quitting, it seems I come up with stuff I want to post. So maybe this complaint will get me out of my slump.

For a long time I've always wanted to do a post on the costumes worn by certain organizations of Catholic knights - you know, capes and berets that are wrinkled and smell like mothballs, or marabou feathers that are grungy and dirty. I have a friend who is a Marist priest, and one time while we were visiting, as I was walking around his room looking at things, I picked up a huge blue satin skull cap. He collected art and antiquities, so naturally I thought it was something from a bygone era. Laughing I asked, "What is this?" Somewhat defensively, he replied, "That is part of our habit." On second thought, I better not make fun of what people wear.

Princess Diana

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of her death. I have been told Mother Teresa was very fond of her.

The Crusaders...

(I loved that group - "The Crusaders" - with Randy Crawford of course.) Cathy has a good post on some local crusaders who go to dissident parishes and quietly pray the Rosary for truth. She has posted a schedule of where they will be.

I remember years ago, I used to bunch my Rosary in my hand as I prayed it so that people wouldn't notice. That is because the Rosary was considered old fashioned and people labeled you as a "Wanderer type" or "pre-Vatican II" if you prayed the Rosary and wore a scapular. That was the '70's - an era of flaming liberalism and charismatic prayer groups. Even the monks of my monastery looked down on the Rosary. Now I don't care if people see the beads.

Guess who I ran into at the Minnesota State Fair?

Cathy at the Beer Garden. That girl sure knows how to have a good time.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

"To surrender means to offer God my free will, my reason, my own life in pure faith. My soul may be in darkness. Trial and suffering are the surest test of my blind surrender... surrender is also true love. The more we surrender, the more we love God and souls. If we really love souls, we must be ready to take their place, to take their sins upon us and expiate them in us by penance and continual mortification. We must be living holocausts, for the souls need us as such." - Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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I'll be off-line for a while.

Carry on

Post Vatican II Reforms...

Snarchitectural Digest.

Look what happened to this Church after the renovation was over. I like the green rug and glass ceiling however... kind of a Hogwart's illusion thingie going on.

(Thanks to Jeffrey at Roving Medievalist for the photo.)

"What the heck goes through your mind?"

Private thoughts from the toilet... made public.

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My mother often asked me that question; "What the hell goes through your mind?", and I'd lie and say, "I don't know?" Another time a commenter to this blog scolded me and wrote, "You don't have to write everything you think about." (I thought, "Oh shut up!")

Most people who read my posts and are the recipients of my comments also wonder the same thing. So here are some things I think about when I'm engaged in mindless works, such as brushing my teeth and other stuff - geniuses do their best thinking in the shower you know!

Some things I thought about today while showering and shaving...

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Women and make-up. Why do they wear it? I have to admit that I like women with make-up - if they do it right. I love dark smokey eyes on women - like Janet Jackson used to wear - I've always liked women with eye-liner and heavy mascara. I hate colored eye shadows though - you know, how old women wear blues and greens, and you can see all the creases.

I hate hard, red lips - especially on blondes... now this thought came to me as I looked in the mirror, with foamy toothpaste dripping out of my mouth, down my chin, and I noticed that my lips were darker than the rest of the skin on my face. So then I wondered why and realized that is why women wear dark lipstick - you get it? I still like pale lips though.

Poop

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Have you ever wondered what happens to the stuff you flush down the toilet? Like where does it go? I know, the sewer and the sewage plant - but how does it get there from my house? Is it a continual flow of water that carries it away?

Crap

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Thinking about bloggers, I wondered how many there are who really do have mental problems - or how many are as Catholic as they seem to be? Don't you ever wonder about that? Then I said to myself, "Don't get started on that bullshit!" I drive myself nuts sometimes. A very long time ago, when I would drop acid - years ago - no one liked to trip with me because I'd get so intense about analyzing people and things. I always ended up freaking out because I ended up categorizing and pigeon-holing everyone, and I didn't like what I saw. I think that is why I now like mentally ill people so much - they do that - it doesn't mean they are right of course. I wasn't always correct.

BS

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Arguing with people. Why do people who disagree, while both believing that what they believe is truth, bother to argue or debate? Doesn't the one cancel out the other? Say you meet someone who by his lifestyle and actions is hell-bent on going to hell, and he doesn't believe as you do about salvation and stuff. Why not leave him alone and let him go to hell?

Doody

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Normal - in a way I always wanted to be normal, but when I looked around at what people commonly associate with normal - it scared the hell out me. Mental people often think they are normal - these are some of the types who blog. (Remember, I'm not normal, so I'm in another category. And both my Dr. and Spiritual Director told me I'm not mentally ill! Gosh! That means I'm culpable then!)

"Your life is in the toilet."

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As I was shaving, I had to wonder why I do it - shaving that is. (I haven't shaved in 3 days.) I'm just as ugly shaven or unshaven - why do I even care how I look? When I go to the store - which I intend to do in a minute - I'll see ugly fat people just like me who don't care what they look like. A lot of guys don't shave - well - some women don't either.

Why do women have to wear skirts and dresses? What's wrong with wearing pants - if they didn't wear dresses and skirts, they wouldn't have to shave - same with sleeveless tops. Women make their lives hard for themselves - men don't.

Bitch, bitch

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A commenter on another post on same sex sexual harassment was miffed that I excluded male to female sexual harassment. Hello! That's all we ever hear about anyway. She mentioned how guys always look at her boobs. I wanted to ask, well do you wear tight tops? Do you wear t-shirts with printing on them? Do guys read the printing? I mean, where are people supposed to look, busty? Dress like a slut - look like a slut - a guy is going to look... not that wearing printed t-shirts is slutty - not at all - I was just thinking of how some younger women do kind of dress, should I say, less modestly.

Impressions - snap judgements - we all fall prey to that stuff... it gets old - and we are usually wrong about something. (Except me - I really know a great deal about people...)

Old

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Speaking of old - Dyed hair. Not on old guys. Most women probably should dye their hair though - or at least get hi-lights. (If they dye their hair, they should always have hi-lights, otherwise it looks dyed, and that looks dumb. Just like women with tight perms.)

Somehow all of this leads back to eternity - not the cologne though. Every once in a while I get this "Ah! I don't know what" feeling popping into my consciousness. I once referred to this as a 'contemplative moment' and some bitch commented, "I don't think there are any contemplatives here" - she meant on my blog. (See how scary it is to reveal your true thoughts?)

Ms. Religious-know-it-all-I-have-a-degree-in-theology didn't get the point. What I was referring to was when sometimes, just for a split second, you can get a glimpse - it happens to kids all of the time - like when they are starring at the sky and the thought of eternity enters in, only to disappear before they can grasp it... faster than the speed of light. It happens. And when it happens, most of the stuff I think about seems pretty stupid.

Mindless drifting

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I wondered who is going to win "America's Got Talent" tonight as well. Don't you just love Sharon Osborne? She used to be a porker.

Then I was thinking how Chris Cuomo on GMA reminds me of Little Freak. I felt badly because Little Freak hasn't called, stopped over - even though I never let him in - he hasn't emailed, nothing. All I can think of is that he's found out the true me and doesn't like me.

(I think Fergie is hot.)

When my mother was dying and she and I were planning her funeral, she told me she was sure no one would ever show up because no one liked her. (That's where I got that attitude!) Her funeral was packed with people I had never met - losers she had often been kind to and befriended, as well as a few notable people. (A tear; forefinger tracing it down my cheek.)

We are all going to die - then everyone will know...

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Are you ever afraid that if people find out the true you they won't like you? I know! And that explains why I never socialize, talk on the phone, or write about what goes through my mind - although I'm kind of doing that now.

I have to go to the store, and the bank, and I want to make a visit at Church. They lock up in the afternoon, so I pull up to the door in my car, and sit there, making my visit from outside - since the entire church is really one big tabernacle - don't you agree? After all, Matt Talbot used to kneel in prayer on the church steps before the sacristan unlocked it for morning Mass.

...

Anyway - I really have to go - but I thought I'd write about what goes through my mind. It changes all the time - LOL!

It ain't over, it ain't over yet...

The Monster that devoured Cleveland... Scandals.

Naked priests, battered bishops... Church scandals. The Cleveland Diocese now has a new one - embezzlement charges.

CLEVELAND, Aug. 19 — A former assistant treasurer of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland is to go on trial Monday, accused of taking part in widespread financial mismanagement and looting of church funds. - NY Times

It ain't over yet.

Leona Helmsley, dead at 87

Well, I hope not. R.I.P.

Doctor! Doctor! Mr. M.D.!

I think I have to see my proctologist, Dr. Seymour Butz, who will probably send me to my urologist, Dr. I. P. Daley. I hate going to the doctor.

Desperately sick people...

Internet addiction.

A report out says Internet addiction is a form of OCD and is worse than sexual addiction, gambling and kleptomania:

Internet addiction is classified by mental health professionals as an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a mild to severe mental health condition that results in an urge to engage in ritualistic thoughts and behavior. "Internet addiction is not manifesting itself as an ‘urge.’ It’s more than that. It’s a deep ‘craving.’ And if we don’t make the change in the way we classify Internet addiction, we won’t be able to treat it in the proper way," Dannon said Friday in a release. - UPI

My first thought was about all of those people at work, wasting hours out of their day, surfing the net and blogging on the job. But the study is actually pointing to teens and people in their mid-50's as the true addicts. Obviously the office workers aren't being caught yet. Like gamblers who embezzle money from their companies to support their habit - Internet surfers at work pretty much embezzle time from the employer.

I consoled myself as I concluded, just like gay activists who persuaded the Psychiatric profession to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders - if we Internet addicts stand together - we can get this one off the books too. (Those pesky mental health professionals! Always looking for more business!)

Best new ad...

The new Old Navy denim ads are the best - the music is wonderful - the vocalist has a Billie Holiday style about her. In a time when Madison Ave. ads are on the down turn - business isn't good - Old Navy tops the charts with their new ad. Have you noticed how French looking and sounding some of the ads are getting?

That's hot!

Hundreds get naked to expose Global Warming.


Is it art or is it politics? (Maybe it's Maybelline.) All I can say is that I'd be embarrassed - you know - shrinkage. (It doesn't just happen to glaciers.)

Anonymous comments.

Closet snarks.

I've never liked them - and obviously, they have never liked me or what I've had to say. I have to wonder however, why do they post anonymously? Are they afraid I'll snark them out - or somehow beat them up? Or are they hiding their identity so that others won't think badly of them for what they had to say? Or do they know me and occasionally see me - friendly to my face, but having another face they don't want to show?

Anyway - comment moderation is staying on and anonymous comments will not be posted in the future. If you want to say something negative that is fine - but get some balls and leave an identity.

St. Clare of Montefalco

Today is her feast day. As a young teenager she first consecrated her virginity to Christ, clearly comprehending the unitive power of holy chastity with her Divine Lover. She died in 1308; following her death, a crucifix was found miraculously inscribed upon her flesh above her heart. It is preserved uncorrupted to this day, as is her body.

Calling Miss Marple...

Dark at the top of the stairs.

"The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup is insisting its bishop was injured when he fell down the stairs at his home, despite speculation he might have been assaulted." - Las Cruces Sun News

And so the speculation and investigation continues. Bishop Donald Pelotte insisted he fell at his home, yet his injuries suggest an assault - which is why the doctors were obliged to call police in the first place. He had been discovered locked in his room at home after a representative of the diocese went over to check on him when he hadn't shown up for work at the office.

"The local Gallup Independent newspaper has published two editorials calling for a police investigation.

"From everything that has come out, we have no doubt that this is what happened: Pelotte was viciously assaulted and now he's trying to cover up either because he wants to protect the person who did it or wants to keep secret the relationship he has with the perpetrator," the newspaper wrote Aug. 11." - Las Cruces Sun News

"Gay. You're gay."

Daddy Bear...

I hinted at it in a previous post, but new revelations are coming out and I have to say - yeah, I was right, this priest has a history. Gerald at Closed Cafeteria has more. I'll bet it's a NAMBLA thing going on with this guy.

Post title: From KQ "Brainerd Cash Call".

Did you read the latest study?

Men are the most miserable in their mid-30's to 40's - not until the age of 65 do they start feeling better about themselves. I guess my 2 decade-long mid-life crises isn't so unusual then -like I'm supposed to feel better about this?

Where's Cathy?

Snap out of it!

"Cathy, you just can't walk out on Ray and I! Don't fall for that tuxedo-clad, soap-opera-loving charmer, Mitchell. And Vincenzo - so he promised you a film career - do you even know him? Think about all you are throwing away!"

Holier than thou...

Puritanism.

I have been in this dark, dark, DARK mood for innumerable days. Lately I've been thinking deeply about penance and I got myself all 'doured-soured' out about everything - past sins and failures and all that kind of stuff. I was starting to feel like a rad-trad Catholic! Ick! Then today, it was like all the doom and gloom suddenly cleared away and I finally felt a sense of joy - for the first time in months! (Maybe it's because I just heard of another defection from the rad-trad-cult form of Catholicism. An uber-traditionalist wife just left her Feeney-ite husband. Too much religion can sometimes either cause one to lose one's faith or drive a person crazy. I personally think this woman had enough. I don't know if she left the faith, but the ubers think leaving one's husband is the same thing.)

Whatever, today I felt as if this great burden has been lifted off my shoulders. In a silly mood, I started thinking of things I don't care about, so I'll list some of them.

So yeah, here is some stuff that doesn't bother me:

* The Latin Mass in either form - I don't care if it's Novus Ordo or the TLM. If it happens to be the Novus Ordo - I don't care if it's in English or Latin.

* What people wear to Mass. I don't care if women are in camisoles - actually one was last Sunday - it doesn't bother me.

* Weddings - I've been invited to 4 this year and haven't attended any of them - and it doesn't bother me.

* Gay people - I honestly don't care if someone is gay - unless the guy is real femme or the woman is man-hating butch - that's just weird. If they claim to be Catholic, then I do care that they really abide by what the Church teaches - if not - they should stop pretending to be Catholic. If they are not religious, that's fine.

* Non-Catholics. I don't care if someone is Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, or Wiccan - just don't try to convert me or argue religion with me.

* Irreligious people. Same thing - just don't criticize me or my religion or try to argue with me.

* Marijuana. If it was legal I'd probably smoke it. However, it's not legal and it's a sin to break the law.

* Anorexic women. I think they are kind of attractive.

* Global warming - it happens.

* People who talk on cell phones in public - I enjoy listening to their conversations and pigeon-holing them by what they say.

* Motorcyclists without helmets and people who engage in extreme sports. I don't care if they kill themselves.

* Answering the phone - I don't.

* Cars. I've never ever been impressed with the type of car a person drives.

* Professional sports - I don't care about them.

* Celebrities - I don't care about them.

* Family feuds - I love the drama.

* Severe storms - I love the drama - it's related to family feuds - dysfunctional-ism.

* Working wives and mothers - at least they are not living off their husbands. (Oh lighten up! I'm kidding!)

* Harry Potter - I love the stories.

* Priests in or out of clerical clothing - that doesn't bother me - just as long as they are wearing something.

* Peace and justice radicals who are anti-war.

* Modern and contemporary art - I like a lot of it.

* Nudity.

* Talking in Church - I was letting it bother me and decided I was getting to be too 'holier than thou' about it. I've decided it is a waste of time to worry about things one has no control over.

* Smoking and people who smoke. (I do.)

* Crabby old people.

* Death - it's something we have to do.

* Nuns in secular clothing.

* Nuns in traditional habits.

* Fast food - although I rarely ever eat it.

* This post is starting to bother me. I can't think of anything else. Suffice it to say, there are a lot of things that don't bother me today. Maybe I should do a post about what does bother me?

What really does bother me is falling for the 'holier than thou' thing - it's such an easy trap to fall into - especially for bloggers.