Catholic Snark-Free Zone

I don't know where the word "snark" emanated from, but I hate it AND the lack of charity that goes with it.  If you read anything that even remotely resembles snark, you have my permission to smack me with a metal ruler.  OK?

One more note.  As a rule, I don't have a problem following bloggers that don't follow me. I do have a problem, however, with bloggers who solicit for donations, take my money, and then can't be bothered to lower themselves to visit my blog, even once, let alone click the follower icon out of pity (What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment).  A high-tech blog with lots of pretty pictures and impressionist art is nice, but there are plenty of non-Catholic blogs that offer the same thing, without the pretense of claiming to be Catholic. And, they don't complain about being "bored" by their own blogs. Some bloggers' idea of "playing nice" means tapping their donation button early and often and never, ever disagreeing with them, even though they're wrong.  So, see ya high and mighty fellow bloggers.  Don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya!

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to try to highlight less traveled blogs that do a good job representing the Catholic faith.

Good Parenting: The Answer to America's Education Woes

I live in Philadelphia.  My kids spent their first 9 years of school, including Kindergarten, at Catholic schools and all have attended or do attend public high school.  One needs the autistic support that Catholic schools simply do not offer  The other two chose magnet schools and received an education we could not afford in a comparable private school.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the education funding crisis in Philadelphia, a crisis which would not exist if parents would simply raise their kids rather than expect the school district, the teachers and the taxpayers to do it for them.  Public schools in Philadelphia can be a violent place to try to learn.  Not all of the schools, mind you. There are some very good ones.  The school my oldest graduated from is competitive on every level with the best private schools in the country.  But not every child can attend a magnet school, so what happens to them?  They are forced to attend school with a generation of children who have practically raised themselves, children who think it's normal to slap an adult or punch someone in the face as soon as look at them.

In one school,  a child was suspended for punching a pregnant teacher in the stomach.  Do you know what one of our lovely school administrators had the nerve to say? "Kids will be kids."

I don't know about you, but if any of us had hauled off and punched any adult in the stomach, let alone a pregnant teacher, my father wouldn't have waited for the cops to arrest us, he would have done it himself.

One day last year while still working in Center City, I had to run an errand at lunch time and I passed two women waiting for the bus with a child no older than 2.  I don't know what happened but I had no sooner passed them when I heard a loud slap and the child wailing his head off.  I don't know what he did, but his grandmother decided it deserved a slap so loud, it made me jump nearly out of my skin.  Again, I ask: what on earth could a two-year old possibly do that would warrant slapping him period, let alone that hard?

Someday, that child will be in school and when he has a disagreement with someone, or someone says or does something to him he doesn't like, I guarantee you he's going to react the way his grandmother did - with physical violence.  Children like him don't need video games because they're raised with violence at such an early age, they cease to recognize it as such.   That's why they commit violence against random innocent people on the streets - because they're so desensitized to it.

I can't even tell you what the statistics are, but way too many children in Philadelphia's public schools are products of single-family homes.  It used to be that grandmothers helped raise the kids while the mother went to work, but as the grandmothers get younger and younger, it happens with less frequency.   A public school teacher whose children swam with mine recounted the heartbreak of watching a five-year-old in her kindergarten class fend for himself each day.  Somehow, he managed to dress himself with whatever he could find in the house and travel to school alone. The meals he got in school were the only meals he got all day. Repeated complaints to the Department of Human Services elicited no change.  All the money in the world spent on this child's education will not amount to a dime so long as he lives in a home environment like that.

The mayor of this city had an idea that putting a tax on sugary drinks would be a good way to raise money for the school district.  I personally had no problem with it. ( If you're going to tax something, it ought to be something that has no health benefit whatsoever, but that's just my opinion.)   The Teamsters Union stopped him, so instead, now our property taxes will go up.  I can't complain too much because at least I use the school district.  How about the parents who don't?  How about the parents who work three jobs to be able to afford a private or Catholic school education so their kids don't have to get beaten up by their fellow students?  How is it fair to them?

What Philadelphia needs more than anything is a program that helps children realize early on the importance of a two-parent home and the consequences of pre-marital sex.  Look at how many children have siblings that do not even call the same man their father.  The cycle perpetuates itself, and the familiar cry is heard time and time again: the schools don't have enough money.  No, what they don't have is enough responsible adults to parent the children they send to school each day. And until they do, there won't be enough money in the world to educate children in a measurable and meaningful way.

It's the truth, and someone needs to tell it.

Relatives Behaving Badly at Mass

My great uncle's funeral Mass was this morning.  There was no viewing, and really no one to come to a viewing, so the church was the gathering place.  Very few of my relatives go to church regularly, if at all, and I have come to be very uncomfortable with funerals because of the behavior.  They were blocking the aisle and laughing and talking loudly so that I couldn't even see the tabernacle to genuflect to it.  I tried to take a seat in the pew as quickly as possible so I could make known by my demeanor my displeasure with all the yukking it up when one of my uncles ran up to me and hugged me.  It's nice to have a family that loves you, but...

"Where are you going before you say hello to your uncle?"

You don't know how hard it was NOT to say: "Did you bother to say hello to HIM first?"

I could tell the priest knew exactly what kind of crowd he was dealing with.  He instructed them when to sit, stand and kneel.  If only he had told them to shut up.  One of my cousins talked during nearly the entire Mass.  Short of giving a good loud "shush!" I didn't know what else to do.  My mother later told me she gave this same cousin two backward warning glances, but to no avail.

My relatives are generally good people who love one another. I just wished they loved the Lord a little more and a little better.  Most likely  these same folks would come if one of my parents or another family member passed.  Perhaps I will include something in the obituary along the lines of the following:

"The utmost silence will be kept in church before, during and after Mass begins out of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament."

I really loved how the priest today handled Holy Communion.

"Only those good Catholics in a state of sanctifying grace, who are not in a state of mortal sin, and have kept the minimum fast of one hour may approach the altar for Holy Communion.  The rest of you may remain in your pew where you are to make a spiritual communion, giving thanks to God for all the ways He has blessed you in your life and especially to pray for the repose of George's soul, which is, after all, the reason we are here."

You tell 'em Father!

Heed the Holy Father's Call: Pray for Priests and Vocations

Between today and Friday (the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus) the Holy Father has called upon each of us to spend some time before the Blessed Sacrament praying for priests and for more vocations.  Pope Benedict XVI will mark the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood this week, and what better way to honor him than by honoring Him.

I'm going to try to spend less time on the computer this week and more time in front of Our Eucharistic Lord.  My motto is going to be: Get Holy and Get Thin Trying.  You see, since I started this job in January, I've put on too many pounds of paunch, so my quest for holiness will have a two-fold benefit.  It's quite a hike to the Adoration Chapel so hopefully while I'm adding my prayers to those of the rest of the faithful, I'll  drop a pound or two.  (Actually, I need to drop much more than that, but I'll settle for a few pounds at this point.)

Plus, it's a good penance, if nothing else.  I keep expecting that the chapel, like other churches in summer, will be nice and cool, but it isn't.  There's nothing like arriving, all hot and sweaty from the walk, and not being able to tell the difference between the temperature inside or out of the chapel. Oh, well, something to look forward to in winter - I'll bet the heat works the same way the AC does.  Just like home.  At least I have something to offer up besides my prayers!

Anyway, don't forget to pray for priests this week.  Pray for those that struggle.  Pray for those who may be discouraged by so many lost souls.  Pray for those who have not been faithful to their vows. Pray for those who persecuted for their orthodox beliefs and faithfulness to the Church.    Pray for those young men studying and preparing for the priesthood.  Pray for priests by name, like Father Corapi and Father Francis Mary and Father Eunteneuer.  Pray for your pastor and any other priests at your parish.  Pray for retired priests and those priests at the end of their journey.

You will run out of time before you run out of men to pray for.

O Sacred Banquet!

The Bread of Angels

Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam. Amen.

(May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ keep your soul until life everlasting. Amen)

The Gift

One of the things I most look forward to when I am finally retired is spending time every day in Adoration. Believe it or not, I started going to Adoration before I made the decision to return to the Church. I would leave services at the Anglo-catholic church I attended for awhile and then stop in to the little Adoration chapel down the street. There were a few things I remembered from my Catholic school days such as making sure I was dressed modestly. That included no bare arms or legs or shorts or other clothing that would be offensive to the Eucharistic Lord.

Once I made the decision to return to the Church, I did everything I could to make it to daily Mass, but I hadn't figured things out yet about how I could do that and so I got to Mass whenever I was lucky, like if the schedule was light and I could leave early enough to get to an evening Mass near where I worked, or if I had the day off and could go in the morning. I liked going to the church down the street because of their Adoration chapel where I could remain behind after Mass to pray the Rosary and my other devotions.

One Saturday, I went to the 8am Mass and the Old Testament reading was from the Book of Tobit, where Azariah revealed himself as the archangel Raphael. I remember at the time of the reading that I had an aura which I could not explain, but it was almost as if a strong wind had entered the chapel. I looked around because I couldn't believe the others at Mass did not notice or feel anything different. The aura (which is the best word I can use to describe it) dissipated and I listened to the words of the reading with chills and the hair standing up on the back of the neck. The notion of Raphael taking Tobit's prayers directly before the Lord's throne was so beautiful to me it left me what I could honestly describe as shaken.

Mass ended, and I stayed behind to pray. I was on the 7th day of my Novena to St. Therese and I had set the little booklet I pray from on the seat next to me and took out my Rosary. I prayed with my eyes fixed on the Blessed Sacrament. When I looked away for a second, I must have first glanced at the wall next to the window where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because on the wall was the image of someone in prayer, their eyes downcast and a serene expression on their face. I blinked a few times and looked away, thinking perhaps it was some kind of optical illusion for staring so long at the Sacred Host, but the image remained. The image had long hair which was parted in the middle and seemed to be loosely pulled back over their shoulders. I honestly could not tell whether I was looking at a male or female, though at first I was pretty sure it was a woman by the length of the hair. The image had its hands folded upright in prayer. It appeared to be wearing a tunic or gown of some sort with a rounded neckline. It never looked up, but its eyes were downcast in what I can only describe as prayer. All that was visible was what you'd see in a bust of someone, not the entire body. After about a minute, it faded. Needless to say, I was stunned and unnerved.

I looked around at my fellow adorers but no one seemed changed or moved in any way.

At first I had no idea who or what I had laid eyes on. To say it was an apparition would be very wrong. It was more the appearance of an image. I thought about it for weeks. At first I said nothing to anyone, but then I confided in a good friend what I had seen. Neither of us had any clue, especially since the image did not speak or even look at me. However, my friend was convinced it was supernatural and a gift and that I should just accept it without speculation. But months later, I think I figured it out. I think what I was permitted to see was the reflection of the angel who knelt in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. Whether or not it was Raphael is not for me to say.

This took place during a very trying time in my life when I was praying in earnest for an intention for myself. When I listened to the Old Testament reading that morning, I imagined St. Raphael taking my plea and bringing it before the Lord. I have to tell you that the prayer was answered in the way that I had hoped it would be shortly after that morning in the chapel.

For a long time I have kept this pretty much to myself, but at this young man's suggestion that I talk about my experiences at Adoration, I felt moved to share it.

Please believe me when I say that I did nothing to deserve this little gift from God, nor would I expect any such thing to happen again. I have to be honest and say that when I am alone in Adoration, I have a fear almost of something similar happening again, so I try not to think about it. I go to Adoration to keep Jesus company and hopefully, make atonement to Him for the neglect He suffers from so many cold and hardened hearts. The last person in the world that would deserve such a gift once twice let alone once is me, trust me.

Letter from Cardinal Justin Rigali

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, will mark his
sixtieth anniversary of ordination to the priesthood
on June 29, 2011. The church throughout the world
has been invited to observe this significant occasion
with a designated period of Eucharistic adoration.
The sanctification of priests and a generous increase
in priestly vocations are the proposed intentions for
this period of prayer before our Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament. A special encouragement is given to
priests throughout the world to participate in this
way of expressing communion with our Holy
Father.
I have arranged for several parishes with chapels of
perpetual adoration, including the Convent of
Divine Love (the Pink Sisters), to be the sites for
our archdiocesan participation in Eucharistic
adoration to mark the Holy Father’s anniversary.
All the priests and faithful of the Archdiocese are
asked to spend some time before the Blessed
Sacrament at one of these sites or another one of
your choosing, if possible, from Monday
June 27th
through Friday, July 1st
, the Solemnity of the Most
Sacred Heart of Jesus. I am most grateful to you
for your continued faithful service to the Church
and entrust all our priestly labors to the Sacred
Heart for his grace and mercy. The sites for
Philadelphia South are:
St. Francis de Sales
St. Peter the Apostle
St. Rita of Cascia
St. Thomas Aquinas
Stella Maris

All Going to the Same Place

My great uncle George passed away last week at the age of 91. He was the last of my grandmother's siblings and with him died their family name, Daher (pronounced dare). He was a good egg.

When my grandmother was suddenly widowed and left to raise 5 young children on her own in the early 40's, Uncle George was still in the Army, where he served as a cook. Upon his discharge, he promptly arrived at my grandmother's house to do his best to lend her a hand. He thought cooking was his strong point, so he took over this duty from my grandmother for awhile so that when she came home exhausted from sewing draperies all day, cooking could be one less thing to worry about.

By mother's accounts, Uncle George wasn't as talented in the kitchen as he'd like to think, but beggars can't be choosy, so she and her siblings ate what he put before them. He ran the household like he was still in the Army and the kids were under his command. My mother's most vivid memory is of him mixing the potatoes and meat and vegetables together, at which any normal kid would turn up their nose. "Eat it! It's all going to the same place", he'd bark.

Eventually, Uncle George went back to his own home. By the time I came along, he was a seldom visitor who came on Christmas or Easter. Years later, when my grandmother was dying from lung cancer, Uncle George again came to the rescue and moved in with her and my divorced aunt who had been living with my grandmother since her marriage ended some years ago. Again he did the cooking, but he picked up a trick or two since his Army discharge and he had long age ceased mixing everything together in a porridge. Actually, he became a pretty good chef. He stayed with my aunt after my grandmother passed and when my aunt eventually became ill, he cared for her, as he had my grandmother.

Uncle George sold his house in upstate Pennsylvania and stayed in my grandmother's house. When he himself began to fail in health, my mother started cooking for him and every week, she would stop by his house a few times with care packages of food. My mother is a much better cook than Uncle George and he really looked forward to her visits but more than that, he expected nothing of anyone. He ate whatever she put in front of him as she joked "c'mon, it's all going to the same place, eat it!" On the rare occasions when she sent me in her place, he would answer the door in surprise and chastise me for thinking I had to inconvenience myself for him. He was a humble, simple servant and fiercely independent until the end.

A few weeks ago, his congestive heart failure sent him to the hospital and he was so compromised, he couldn't even go to rehab. God, in His Infinite Mercy, took Him in his sleep.

My mother is taking his death with quite a bit of sadness. "He's the last piece of my mother that I have," she cried. I reminded her he is not really the last tie to her mother, as she has been saying. Her tie to her mother is the Eucharist. If my grandmother is not in Heaven now, she will be one day, so saintly was her life. I pray Uncle George will be going to the Same Place.

Breaking News...

...Mr. Little Way installed the air conditioner today. No chance he's been reading this blog because he doesn't have any interest in the computer. So I credit this miracle to your prayers, dear readers, and to the goodness of the Lord. For now, this aspect of the monastic life has been lifted.

Around The Archdiocese of Philadelphia: Sacred Heart Novena, Corpus Christi Sunday And More

Tonight the annual Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus commenced at the Visitation Monastery.  Go here to read about it.

On Sunday, St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church at 9th and Watkins Street, Philadelphia will holds its annual Corpus Christi Procession following the 11am Mass.  The faithful are invited to accompany the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of South Philadelphia to Epiphany of Our Lord Church at 11th and Jackson Streets, where the procession will conclude with Benediction.  This is a most beautiful tradition at St. Nick's and it would be wonderful to see more people come out to bear witness to the faith and keep Our Lord company on the journey to Epiphany.

Also on Sunday, there will be a procession following the Noon Traditional Latin Mass at St. Paul's. See my earlier post on this for details.

Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the Philadelphia Carmel

The annual Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel begins on July 8th at the Carmelite Monastery in Philadelphia.  Solemn Vespers with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament take place each day of the novena at 4 pm.  Rosary and other devotions at 6:45pm followed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 7:30pm.

On Sunday July 10, Mass will be celebrated in the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass).

The celebrant for the novena this year is Father Kevin McGoldrick.

The monastery is located at 66th Ave and Old York Road and is accessible by public transportation.  Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the monastery on 66th Ave.

God Help Me I Do Love It So

Cliff Lee, jogging out to the mound.  It's a constant source of amusement to watch the opposing batters throw their bats and slam their helmets to the ground when he strikes them out.

If there is one thing in this world I am overly attached to, it's sports.  Last night as I was driving to the Adoration Chapel it occurred to me that Cliff Lee was on the mound, and I felt a momentary lump in my throat. I would never give up one of my devotions in order to watch sports, but I do worry that I spend too much time indulging in America's Favorite Pastime.  When you have a dude like this on the mound every 5th game, it's hard to switch the set off and go to bed at a civilized hour.

Unfair Advantages or God's Good Graces?

Please keep me in your prayers.  I'm going on an official interview tomorrow at the Catholic hospital I mentioned last week.  It is eval time at my present job and I can count on one hand the people who haven't begged me not to leave.  I got my own eval today and it was a glowing one, which only increases the guilt. I decided before I went to the eval that if my boss gave me an opening, I would be honest and tell her I'm considering a move.  She never gave me the opening so I was careful not to say anything that could be interpreted as a ringing endorsement of my position.  Tomorrow's  is a quiet schedule and it's the best day to meet everyone I need to meet at the prospective hospital, so it wasn't a problem to take off.  I was a coward and informed her in an email, giving no reason except to say I'd switch tomorrow with a scheduled day off next week.  I can't lie, so if pressed, I would have responded by saying "I was able to schedule an appointment I need to go on sooner rather than later."

There's a line in the movie "The Horse Whisperer" that I've always thought described me pretty well.

"Tom's not too good with goodbyes.  Come to think of it, he's not too good with hello's either"

If I decide this job is right for me, and I think I pretty much have already, I will have to personally say goodbye to all the doctors who interviewed me and gave me the seal of approval.  It won't be easy, but not as hard as having to tell some of the staff, who haven't had a voice to speak for them in quite awhile.

I was talking this over with my husband and he got a big kick out of me telling him that I feel like the Bobby Petino of nurse managers. Oy vay!

It really bothered me that I got such a good eval.  I thought of some of the people I am responsible for who will not be getting such good evals, because I can't take the easy way out and sweep bad behavior and poor practice under the rug.  I keep thinking I have some kind of unfair advantage over them, especially the one who has especially made life miserable for me.  I need to learn to distinguish the difference between being the recipient of preferential treatment and being blessed by God. You'd think by now I'd  have figured it out, but I'm still a work in progress.

Last night the oldest called me in hysterics.  A friend of hers died from a drug overdose.  He was the same age she is and had been the steady boyfriend of one of her friends since high school.  They weren't as close as she'd like to have me believe and I suspect the real reason she's so shaken is because it's the first time she's having to deal with the death of some one so close in age.  Please say a prayer for the boy and his family.  I say a prayer of thanks for having a child who so far, has not succumbed to the poison of drugs or alcohol and I pray she stays that way.  I thought I had a lot to deal with growing up but these kids have it worse.

Last night I went to bed filled with dread and guilt.  I keep thinking of all the people who have spurned the Love of His Sacred Heart, and I can see no reason why I should be so fortunate or blessed to have converted.  I don't think the Lord wants us to be filled with the kind of fear that saddens us or fills us with anxiety. I only hope I have earned every day since my conversion the precious gift He gave me when my faith was awakened and my eyes were opened.

Dear Father Corapi: What if Christ Answered His Accusers Like This?

Dear Father Corapi:

It's just a thought, but: Where would Christianity be if Christ chose to answer His accusers like this?  As one commenter notes, not a word about the Eucharist here, just "me, me, me". As they like to say on ESPN, c'mon man!

I don't need to speculate on your guilt or innocence to know this is not the way to defend the faith.  Father, you made more of an effort to fight what you thought was a medical malpractice case committed against you than these accusations.  Does the Church not deserve at least half that effort?

I say these things not to point the finger, but to encourage a man who, if he is wrongly accused, should get up off the mat and start swinging again.  These accusations pale as to be invisible compared to what the Master was charged with and suffered on the cross. No servant is greater than the master, as you often reminded us. What makes you think your reaction to the charges and the process of determining their veracity in any way resembles how Christ would respond?

Coincidentally, in honor of the anniversary of his ordination, Pope Benedict XVI has asked the faithful to make a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament and offer the intention for priests and for more vocations.  Father Corapi, you could sure use our prayers and penance right now. You can count on mine. The last thing the world needs is another former priest.

St. John Vianney, the patron saint of priests,  said that the priesthood "is the love of the Heart of Jesus Christ".
Are you so willing to discard this love, a love you were  privileged to receive at your ordination, an ordination bestowed on you by the hands of another venerable priest, Blessed John Paul II?  Of all the former drug addicts and sinners in the world, Our Lady chose you to receive the Love of her Son's Sacred Heart.  What on this earth could be so terrible that you would throw it away without so much as a backward glance?

I remember a lot of things you said.  Let me remind you of one, Father.  Without Good Friday, there is no Easter Sunday.  This is your Good Friday.  Don't you dare lay down that cross.  Pick it up and carry it and know that if He fell down 3 times, you could fall countless times, and He'll still be there to to take the weight off you.  You have only to ask. Jesus didn't refuse the help of the Cyrenian any more than He refused to take up that cross.  He's not asking you to do the same but He is asking you to try.

God Bless you Father and may the same Blessed Mother who plucked you out of the gutter slap some sense into you before you throw away the love her Divine Son saw fit to give you, a gift so very few receive, as you did when you became a priest forever, like Melchizedek.

Sincerely in Christ,

One of the lambs of the true Shepherd

Ask And You Shall Receive

I had the nerve to ask the Lord if He could hurry things about a bit.  I was in the midst of yet another crisis caused by yet another piece of equipment going on the blink when the phone rang and I got the news I was not expecting to get until the end of next week, at the earliest.

God is so good to me.

I don't dare suggest that if He really wanted to be good to me, He'd do something about the archaic equipment we're dealing with at work that breaks on a weekly basis. Today's catastrophe involved a lot of water and a lot of shuttling of equipment between hospitals.  The show must go on, especially when patients have made plans to take off from work and have family members look after them or worse yet, have commenced an extensive bowel prep.  You certainly don't want to cancel someone's case once they've started that.

Perhaps next I will ask the Dear Lord to move my husband to install the air conditioner in the dining room.  Last night he went stomping up the steps barking at my son  to open a window because, and I quote: "It's cold outside."

Seventy-eight degrees with the humidity hovering in the same range does not qualify as "it's cold outside."

Pray for me because some day, I really might throw a pot at him.

What the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Has to Say About Their Most Famous Member

Thanks to Diane at Te Deum Laudamus for this.  Go over to her place and read it.  It answers some questions and of course raises others.  I think we can safely lay to rest the theory that an impostor released that YouTube video.  It gets sadder by the minute.

Overwhelming Sadness

We were at Father's Day dinner at my parents' house and somehow, the most innocuous comment put me in tears.  I would imagine many of you feel the same way. It seems like every time I turn around, another priest is in some kind of trouble.  It just gets to me and I can't put my finger on the reason why.  Is it for myself, for them or for Him that I want to cry?

Sunday morning and I open the paper to read about a father who bludgeoned his wife and son to death and then laid his head on the railroad tracks and waited for the train to finish the horror he had started.   I'm not following the Casey Anthony saga but it keeps barging into the evening newscast.  Dear God why? Why do human beings do what they do to one another?

What is it that makes people go so terribly wrong?  What is it that is so powerful it can overcome the love between a husband and wife or a father and son?  There have been times in my life when I thought I couldn't go on and all I had to do was think of the reaction my parents or my young children would have to me doing something rash and it's always been enough to snap me back to reality.  Since my reversion, those kinds of thoughts do not cross my mind.

Last night I got to ease the loneliness and dread I feel every Sunday evening by going to the Adoration Chapel for an hour.  I wondered what I had done to deserve so rich a privilege - to sit all alone with my Lord on a Sunday evening in a perfectly quiet chapel with no interruptions, no cell phones ringing and no chatterboxes. I realize there is nothing I can do in this life to merit such a reward, so it's better not to wonder about such things and just bask in His Presence. I have to say that I did not run out of people and causes to pray for and on the ride home, I thought of a few more I could have added.

I could not ask the Lord why and expect an answer, but I could pray for those who are struggling and for those who have been hurt by priests who have succumbed.  I will do my part by praying more than I ever have. I hope the priests will do theirs by taking stock of how they are living and answering whether or not it's in conformity with Christ.  In fact, it's not just the priests who need to do this but all of us, myself included.

Welcome

From time to time I observe an addition of a follower or two, which is most appreciated.  If you are following me and I haven't returned the favor, please don't be shy - bring it to my attention in the combox and I'll reciprocate.  Same for blog links.  I don't link to anything other than Catholic blogs and I don't link to blogs that contain racial slurs or foul language (yes, I have come across blogs from Catholic authors that do that) so please understand that if that's the nature of what you write, I won't be able to link to you.  I also welcome some of the new commenters and hope you'll be a regular visitor.

Defining the Holy Trinity

The best "explanation" I've read comes directly from the preface of the Canon for Mass on Sundays from  the Roman Missal.  You won't see this at the Ordinary Form of the Mass in its current translation.

It is indeed fitting and right, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give thanks to You, Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, who with Your only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit are one God, one Lord: Not in the oneness of a single person, but three persons in one single essence. For what we believe from your revelation concerning Your glory, that also we believe of Your Son and of the Holy Spirit without difference or distinction; so that when we affirm the true and everlasting Godhead we worship three distinct persons in a oneness of Being and with equality of majesty. And that God the angels praise with the archangels, cherubim, and seraphs, ceaselessly singing with one voice: