Yawn!
It is 9:15 p.m. Sunday evening and I am one tired Pastor. I have just finished my official day as far as work goes. Yes, only now. That has become a new Sunday routine. I have Masses in the morning, of course. I come home from my mission parish for a late lunch and a quick nap. Then I head to the office to do some work and to complete any necessary preparation (notes, photocopies, etc.) for RCIA. I teach RCIA from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and then I jump over to one of our school rooms (where I am now) to preside over a Bible Study for a small group of high school seniors in the parish. Our Youth Group meets on Wednesday evenings, but these seniors have lots of other conflicts (college classes they are already taking, work, other activities) and so they expressed some interest in having some youth group activity for them. I couldn't turn down kids who wanted to do something, so I am repeating the Bible Study I already lead for the 9th graders for the seniors. It doesn't require any more organizational work, just the time spent in the class.

So, that means the "work" of my Sundays ends somewhere now around 9:15 p.m. It is all very much worth it and, for the time being, my energy is holding up.

Tomorrow I get to go to Wichita for a small day of recollection and for spiritual direction. I'll also manage to see some former parishioners who now live in Wichita. I am looking forward to all of it.

It May Be Here Sooner Than You Think...

...the news of the more universal indult for the Missal of Pius V (that's the Latin Mass for all you other folks out there) may be dropping soon. Thanks to the kids at Holy Whapping we have virtual confirmation that the indult expansion, probably in the form of a motu proprio, will come out on November 4. I don't want to steal their thunder so I'll let them esplain everything that's on their minds. Also, don't hesitate to back up and check out the interview notes from Matt and Dawn Eden's appearance on NPR.

Received Some Sad News: Passing Along A Prayer Request

I am in the midst of packing for my return to OK when I received an email from a regular reader. Apparently, a young man at the University in Alva has died suddenly; the young man was a relative of the email sender. Of course this is a terrible tragedy and it pains me not to be there for the kids. Confronting mortality in general is tough not to mention when you have it starkly and unflinchingly presented to you. Anyway, if you get the notion, please remember Tyler Highfill and his family in your prayers. I will keep you posted as the situation warrants.

St. Louis Cardinals: Your 2006 World Champions of Baseball!
A little over two years ago I was posting in celebration of the 2004 National League Championship title won by the St. Louis Cardinals. And I was boasting they would take the World Series versus the Boston Red Sox. Alas, that didn't happen.

But 2006 is another story. My dad was fortunate enough to be at last night's final game of the 2006 World Series. He had tickets to the game that was rained out and the make-up game was last night, which turned out to be the big game and the final of the series. Both my parents were born and raised in St. Louis and supporting the Cardinals is in the blood. In fact, I still have my penant from the Cardinals 1982 World Series victory (the white material has turned yellow over the years), the last series the Cards won.

Way to go Cardinals!

Juvenille and Offensive: It's the new witty

Okay, folks, I know I should be resting, casually hanging out in a tree, but the relentless forces of abject stupidity won't let me be. I am no fan of South Park: although they qualify as a cultural phenom, let me just say that says volumes about the culture within which they are a phenom and about the men themselves who would shameless pander to be adored by such a puerile bunch.

Sounds too harsh? Okay, vote for yourself. Imagine a celebrity dies in a surprising and shocking way, leaving behind a grief-stricken family and the pride of this homeland stinging. Now imagine that some brilliant (pause to wipe your screen to remove my venomous irony) writer on a comedy show says to himself, "Hey, that's sounds spoof-worthy," and writes an episode about it. Now, also consider the producers and studio officials who lack the common sense and decency to stand up to these brats and say "Gents, that's off limits." In the end, what you have is a debacle on your hands.

Have you decided if that is too much? Well, that's what the South Park guys have come up with for their show. Steve Irwin's in Hell with a Sting Ray hanging out of his chest. (I'm going to a cup of coffee while that sinks in.)

I know that it is a futile waste of my time to get bent out of shape about these things, but it's what I do. If you feel the need to send a note to the parent company, please do so. I think intercession before the saints will work better, but that's just my theological virtue of hope showing again.

I think these guys have the right ideer...

I received this email and I have to commend the project these men are out to accomplish. Apparently dismayed that there was no pro-life, pro-family candidate on the Maryland gubernatorial race, they decided to provide one of the their own. I would generally and heartily support any sort of logic like this. In Oklahoma, it must be said, that writing in a candidate means voiding the ballot. Have fun with that referendum, whoever would like to get that straightened up.

So, peruse the website and pray for all those folks running for office. They need it.

Basking In Its Pointy-Brimmed, Gothic Goodness

Day four and everything is still sailing along. Yesterday's trip onto UWash's campus was delightful. The grounds are lush and well tended. Fr. Thomas and I walked down to the student center, aka The Hub, and celebrated Holy Mass in an upstairs meeting room. That gives me a good idea for my own campus ministry. It'll have to hold until January but nonetheless... The students I met were clearly the dedicated souls who have to persevere in college to maintain an active and vibrant practice of the Faith. After Mass, Fr. Thomas and I went to lunch in the food court at the university. This, my dear readers, is not your father's student center. Studded with a wide selection of foods and eating options, it made me blush to think of what passed for food service when I was at OU. Fr. Thomas and I shot the breeze about the ups and downs of campus ministry and then hoofed it back to the Newman Center.

By the way, is it just me or is Seattle the city of a thousand stairs? Everywhere I have been there have been massive staircases and pulse straining inclines. I know, I know, I have to get back to the gym or hire a sherpa to pull the sledge I'll be resting on. (Let's keep the Jabba the Hut jokes to ourselves, please.)

The lecture by Fr. Michael was top-notch. Full of clear progression of ideas complimented by helpful powerpoint slides, it was a feast for considering how God interacts in this ragingly complicated mechanism we call the universe. In the end, it simply reinforced my sense that man when undeflected from other business naturally becomes a philosopher by doing nothing more complicatd than looking around himself for the moment. If you get the chance, Fr. Michael will be giving this same lecture at Blessed Sacrament, Seattle, at, I think, 7:30 p.m. You might consult their website for more information. I, for what it is worth, will be sitting in on the local CL group. Even though I had to bail on CL materials for my college program (more on that bittersweet story at another time), I am still convince Communion and Liberation have something unique to contribute to the life of the Church today. I will be taking mental notes for future use.

Now, just a bit of housekeeping. As I am on vacation, I am not posting anything more substantial than my travel notes. I hope that they are interesting. If you sent me an email concerning my recent show on Relevant Radio, I will get back to you middle of next week, possibly by the end of the week. If you leave stuff in the comboxes for me to comment on, that too will have to wait. Perhaps, Fr. H would be so good as to catch that stuff and make some helpful commentary. I know he is busy about his parish while I am loafing and strolling about, but the assist would be appreciated.

From my aerie, I see all

Perched at the third floor landing sits the common computer for Blessed Sacrament Priory in Seattle, WA. I am writing to you on the third, glorious day of vacation here in the Pacific Northwest. But what to tell you about?

Out the window, at the top of the stairs, I see fine, almost misty, rain falling as cars pass on the local throughfare. This must the source of the constant humming sound I hear at night. Not that it is unpleasant, but at first I thought it was A/C running in the priory and leapt up to close the window I had opened. The evergreens loom large in the scene, outside my window as does rejuvenated green grass lawns which are just at the southern edge of my eyeline. Some would think of this weather as dreary, but coming from Arrakis as I do, the rain is welcome and theuraptic.

Yesterday's excursion around the city was informative and entertaining. Mark Shea and I started at the aquarium where we saw all manner of life forms. We were both particularly taken with the skate eggs which helpfully had a port cut into the container they were in so that we could see their development. Mark and I looked at each other and commented, "Right, all this stuff, just randomly happened..." The puffins and other non-ichtyoid life forms were fun but of course my legs lagged over the course of the visit.

Same with the sci-fi museum. It was truly inspired and interesting and all that stuff. I saw so many things connected with my childhood and early adulthood and I marvelled at how central books are to the person I am today. If you get out this way, you should make a stop in.

The capper to the day was seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls. The presentation was absolutely fascinating. I found all sorts of connections coming together from my own personal study as I examined these truly amazing artifacts. It was well worth the hour and a half that when into the presentation. And we didn't even get the van towed. (Private joke)

I want to thank the Mirror Universe double for schlepping me all over the town. It was great to have a companion on the visit and definitely helped not having to navigate the tangle of streets which pass for organized travel in Seattle.

What's on for today? Well, after my fourth cup of coffee, I am going to visit the Newman Club attached to the University for some pointers and plans. And then after the Mass with the friars this evening, I am going back down the university for a lecture by Fr. Michael Dodds, O.P. about evolution. It looks to be a fun day. That lecture is at 7:30 p.m.

Cheers!

Just a little sample to wet the whistle

As you might know, I am working on getting my study guide for the Catechism published. In the interim, I am crafting the second year of the program which centers on studying the Vatican II documents. The parishioners at Woodward have been good enough to sign up for guinea pig service as we iron out the materials. What fascinates me is the new problems that this year has that the Catechism year didn't have.

I thought you might be interested in a little sample. This question comes from the weekly session, week five. Read Sacrosanctum Concilium #61-80 and then consider the following question. "Respond to the following statement: “The Seven Sacraments are extraordinarily ordinary.” Is that a valid statement? Would it make better sense if you said that the Sacraments are ordinarily extraordinary? Use the week’s reading as the source for your response."

It is the plan to have the first year available for purchase in the Spring 2007. We'll keep you posted.

This Story Isn't Hard to Understand...
...so long as you remember that some humans have more rights than others...Anyone feeling like reading Animal Farm later?

This One Goes Out to The Homeschoolers: After Reading This, Aren't You Glad You Homeschool?

I guess you could add parochial school families as well.

A Little Consideration For the Next, Inveitable Mistake That The MSM Will Make

Fr. Pacholczyk is one of my favorite people and one of the truly great priests of this generation. While some of us fuss away at keyboards, he's the one out there getting his hands into the situation, and bringing Christ to bear on it.

Nine Short Days / In the Emerald City / Nine Short Days / Full of So Much To Do

So with everything swirling around the parish, it is now time for vacation. I will be away from the parish through the 31st of the month. Well, that's not exactly accurate. I will get back from my trip on the 30th, spend the night in OKC, and then blaze northward to Waynoka for the vigil Mass. Sounds like fun, huh?

So where I am off to? Well, the title of the post should suggest the answer. I am headed to Seattle where my mirror universe double, Mark Shea, lives. I will be staying at the local Dominican parish, Blessed Sacrament, while in town. I am truly looking forward to some rest and recreation. I am planning on doing all the touristy things like seeing the Space Needle and the original Starbucks. Mark also suggested the Science Fiction museum which sounds like a hoot.

I'll leave you with one thought in passing: who really are the Borg, Starbucks or Microsoft?

Ah, just when I was looking to do some reading on the subject...

Book Review: Saints Behaving Badly: The Cutthroats, Crooks, Trollops, Con Men, and Devil-Worshippers Who Became Saints

A few weeks back, I received from Doubleday a galley copy of Thomas Craughwell's book, Saints Behaving Badly. Up front, I am tough critic when it comes to saints' biographies because I have such a strong sense of their importance for a Catholic life lived well. The Saints, in a certain sense, incarnate the Faith in each age and in a proper to that age. Hence, the inspiration of being devoted to a particular saint is the same inspiration which leads us to bring Christ to full maturity in us.

Happily, I can recommend Mr. Craughwell's book as most profitable reading. Mr. Craughwell fills the pages of this slim work with saints from various times and cultural situations. He is able to convey the pathos and the power of grace ably in just a few pages. There were moments when I was worried that the commentary was becoming a bit salacious merely for salaciousness's sake, but for the large part, this was not an issue. What I most appreciated about this book was the emphasis upon conversion, especially on going conversion. Whether we like it or not, conversion is a both/and -- it starts at baptism and continues until the day you die. In so many of the stories of these saints, that is exactly what you encounter. Particularly, I was touched by the story of St. Genesius the actor turned Christian martyr who didn't get a lot of time between initial conversion and ultimate reward in martyrdom.

However, with all that said, there were a couple of flaws that deserve comment. First, like many of these books that are aimed at a large audience, the unique place of the saints in the Church is not spelled out. Based on the introductory comments, one might get the impression that the saints are just nice people whom the Church sets up as role models. Mr. Craughwell fails to mention the punchline about the saints, that the saints are already in heaven, sharing eternal glory with the Most Holy Trinity. They can be role models because they are at the finish line. If they are just popular figures, then the doctrine of the communion of the saints becomes little more that the Vatican's version of American Idol. Second, while the general tenor and tone of the book is good, I found several of the chapters abrupt, often concluding without a clear sense of where the point of the discussion is going.

All in all, an excellent text worth checking out.

As Someone Who Works in the Prison System, I Am Glad For All The Searches

Red Hat Bloggers of the World, Unite!

I guess that should be in the singular as to my knowledge, Sean Cardinal O'Malley, OFM Cap., is the only blogging prince of the Church. This strikes me as a particularly saavy and effective way to reach out to all people, but especially disaffected Catholic youth. Face it, sometimes the sheep come to you and sometimes you have to go to the sheep. The internet, for better, for worse, is the new public square, and a little stroll in clerical attire in either place can activate positive results.

And in case he's reading Ragemonkey (which somehow I doubt), welcome your Eminence to the blogosphere.

Probably going to regret posting this, but here it goes...

When I saw this link, I became deeply troubled, troubled for three reasons at minimum. On the one hand, the tactic strikes me as disingenuous. Granted the situation is different in OKC than NYC, in that if I have an issue to discuss or hash out with the Archbishop, he's really only a phone call away or I usually can get some time to sit down and talk. After living in Philadelphia for five years, I saw that most large dioceses don't really work that way, or at least, that's what it looked like to this observer. To see the ordinary required a fair amount of planning and good timing probably because of the time constraints upon him. Right or wrong, that's the case. Even with that said, anonymous letters being circulated?! I suppose there could be fear of reprisals, but really, if the situation is so grave as to suggest a "no confidence" vote for the ordinary, then the time for subtlety ended four minutes ago.
The other troubling fact is that this is not how priests should relate to their bishop. To quote from the Office of Readings for the last two weeks or so, the bishop and priests are related to one another as fathers and sons or Christ and the apostles. We all know that those two situations were not free from difficulty. But to air this sort of situation in public effectively, and for those who say "we didn't think it would go public," please join the rest of us in the 21st century where even your private cell phone communications can get you into hot water, it quite unfair. Perhaps it is my mid-west sensibilities at play. You just don't air dirty laundry for everyone to gawk at.
The third troubling fact is that there is no attribution to the story. Oh sure, I can take you back to Whispers in the Loggia, but that is a far cry from knowing the sources. If Mr. Palmo is breaking the story, then that is to be expected.
Regardless of my troubles, this is a grave situation. Please pray today for the people of the Archdiocese. I am afraid this is only going to worse before it gets better. Believe it or not, I am praying that this is a hoax.

Simply Doing What The Church Does Best

I linked to this story because effectively, it's in my back yard. (Yes, I understand that this particular patch of the back 40 is approximately 6-7 hours away from the grand Rectory of Solitude, but it still counts, right?) Bishop Vann is to be commended for the visionary leadership which suggests that education is valuable not only for jobs but because it can lead you to be an excellent person. I know, I know, where do I get these crazy ideas from? So, anyway, a little prayer for Bishop Vann is in order combined with a word of thanksgiving for his generous care of his flock.

Before reading this article, lower your IQ 50 or so points...

This is better known as even when they agree with you, they may not help your cause. The most unfortunate component of this discussion how the media uses political imagery and archetypes to describe something is supra-political, because it is supernatural. Anyway, enjoy.

Itchy & Scratchy! ... Apostles?
Some of you may know the cat and mouse cartoon within the Simpsons show. Simpsons creators offer social commentary about violence on television through this cartoon-within-the-cartoon. It's like Tom and Jerry ... out of control.

Anyway... I know this is probably a sign that I need help, but I cracked myself up this morning listening to the first reading at Mass from the Letter to the Galatians (2:1-2, 7-14). In this selection, St. Paul makes no bones about the fact that he challenged St. Peter to his face because he was wrong. We often see Sts. Peter and Paul depicted together, the Princes of the Apostles, kindred souls, etc. But today provided us another aspect of the relationship.

Of course, I don't think Peter and Paul were truly having a knock down, drag out fight ala Itchy and Scratchy, but it was a disagreement which eventually had to be addressed by the whole Church of the time, at the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15). But in all seriousness, once I was done laughing inside, I realized that this unique view into Peter and Paul's relationship actually reveals a true friendship. You see, the best of friends is one who challenges you, who holds you to accountability. Paul did this for Peter. Your true best friend will do the same for you and if you are truly a friend, you will help another be accountable.

The next time you are sitting on the porch in a moment of peace with a dear friend, raise a glass of lemonade and reflect together on how important it is for true friends to challenge each other to be better, to reach higher, to go further...

Barbara Streisand, Patroness of Tolerance

I guess when you make fun of her or don't appreciate what passes for humor in her book, then her name reverts to its original form, "Strident-sand."

In case you were wondering what the to-do was about...

...here's the complete text, in English no less, of the speech from which everyone can quote one line. Enjoy!

Biretta tip to Amy Welborn for the link.

I love it!!!
Catholicism is so Scripture-rific! That is not usually a description one hears about Catholicism because, unfortunately, many Catholics are woefully lax in their use of Scripture for prayer and for guidance in the Christian life. However, Catholicism is completely founded on God's Word (both in Sacred Scripture and Apostolic Tradition) and the Bible is a "catholic" book. If each of us as Catholic Christians relied more on the Scriptures, the opening exclamation of this post wouldn't seem so foreign. That should be our task.

Apparently, Pope Benedict just might be thinking along these lines. Albeit, if he is, he is expressing these same sentiments in much more intelligent and credible fashion. Why do I make that claim? Because I just read on the Vatican website that 2008 will see the 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops meeting from the 5th to the 26th of October. That is two years away.

And the theme of that meeting will be: In Latin: "Verbum Domini in vita et missione Ecclesiae" or, in English, "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church". Remember when, just months after his election, Pope Benedict made comments about the ancient prayer form using the Scriptures called "lectio divina"? He called Catholics to remember the value of that prayer form, especially in an age dominated by noise and distraction. And now this Synod theme. And we know what comes after a Synod meeting... a document from the Pope condensing and distilling all the lessons of the theme treated by the bishops at the meeting. So we have two years to wait for the Synod, and who knows how long to wait after that to get our hands on the Pope's Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation. What ever will I do until then? Hey, maybe deepen my own use of Scripture and my own practice of lection divina. I love it!!!