Here, Fr. Tharp is showing those pearly whites as we come to a very fruitful end of the RCIA Summit. You can just read on his face: I love it when a plan comes together! 

Where in the world has Fr. Hamilton been?
Sorry, folks, that I have not blogged in so long. I tried to post some of these photos earlier this summer but my computer wasn't cooperating. Then I went on vacation and then I have been swamped with many wonderful programs in the parish. So, here I am with a few minutes before Benediction and the computer is cooperating now. I'm still here and I have not decided to abandon the blog, despite my silence these many, many weeks. Below are some photos of the final (finally!!) stage of my moving into the parish I have served since August of 2005. Yes, it has taken that long to effect the whole move.

Back in June we moved the last bit of my predecessor's stuff out of the rectory and moved some replacement furniture in. The rectory stairwell is so narrow and steep that there is no way to move even average-sized things via the stairs. So... we had to use some parishioners' ingenuity to take things in and out of the second floor window of the rectory, using this tractor with makeshift platform. It all worked well, and took only about an hour to move the old bedroom furniture out and the new stuff in. I had been fretting about this adventure for close to a year (since I moved here in August 2005). I was just sure that furniture would get damaged and people would get hurt. Once I saw how sturdy the tractor platform was I felt much better. It proved to be a very smooth process with no problems whatsoever.

Here is a close up shot of the front end of the tractor with engineered platform. The expert parishioner drivers of this tractor were able to keep the platform level as we rode up and down on it with furniture. 

Where In The World Is Father Tharp?

Here I am coming to your town, Wichitonians! Tonight, I will drive to OKC, then spend the night with a priest friend who will be attending the conference with me. We leave around noon tomorrow and then the Ragemonkey Founder will be on the look out for rageworthy topics. You know the drill: if you see me and you are a reader, stop over and give an in-person shout-out!

Your Personality Is

Rational (NT) You are both logical and creative. You are full of ideas. You are so rational that you analyze everything. This drives people a little crazy! Intelligence is important to you. You always like to be around smart people. In fact, you're often a little short with people who don't impress you mentally. You seem distant to some - but it's usually because you're deep in thought. Those who understand you best are fellow Rationals. In love, you tend to approach things with logic. You seek a compatible mate - who is also very intelligent. At work, you tend to gravitate toward idea building careers - like programming, medicine, or academia. With others, you are very honest and direct. People often can't take your criticism well. As far as your looks go, you're coasting on what you were born with. You think fashion is silly. On weekends, you spend most of your time thinking, experimenting with new ideas, or learning new things.

The Three Question Personality Test

Okay, riddle me this, Batman and other readers

The pattern of these events seem to be increasing in frequency but that's not what has me puzzled. Why do these things happen in open water? Are they afraid that diocesan sacramental guerilla soldiers are going to break in and so they need to be in open water? I mean that's just silly; after all, if a diocese has ground troops, don't you think they are going to have marines?

Much Rejoicing And Many Prayers for a Speedy Recovery

Attention All Oklahoma Catholic Readers!

How this slipped past my media sense without it tingling I will never know? Apparently, when I wasn't looking, the Archbishop of Oklahoma City, Eusebius J. Beltran, was featured on Catholic Answers LIVE yesterday. He spoke on the Sacramentality of Marriage. You can find a link to this feature on the show calendar. It is on July 31.

Summon Mr. Spock To Calculate the Odds of This One

What I would love to figure out is how stupid the woman who passed this ID was/is.

He's one of my favorites: enjoy this homily if you were told to share this previous weekend

An Insider's Analysis

As a priest with a penchant for all things Dominican, I often make jokes (that are largely accurate) at the Jesuits'expense. That is why I found this interview interesting; it seems to confirm and dispell my suspicions all at once.

Well, this is disappointing to say the very least...

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi

What JFK couldn't accomplish, time will do for us. The history of Cuba is one of those that makes you cringe at all the missed opportunities, corruption, et cetera.

What I find interesting about this whole thing is two fold. First, apparently, recently, Castro invited the Holy Father to visit Cuba. Now, the invite will be turned down, I suspect, because of Benedict's age. At the same turn, however, could this be the sign of a heart who is tired of his flight from God?

Second, reports out suggest that his brother Raul, to whom Fidel relinquished his stranglehold of Cuba, is more radical than he is. Well, that remains to be seen. It sounds as though Fidel will be back on the job soon, but if Fidel should die, I think we might have a case of "the devil you do know is better than the devil you don't."

I will fight to the death until liposuction is safe, legal, and readily available to all women who want...

... and who did I just start sounding like?

Confirmation of A Different Anecdote

I link this not simply to remind folks that the movement for women's ordination (and its assumptions) are afoot even after the Pope says, "Move on." I link this because it confirms a story someone related to me when the Clergy Abuse Scandal broke in Boston. As I expressed, along with many others, how did this happen, an elder priest said to me, "I am not surprised it didn't happen sooner; the Boston Archdiocese has been in a spiritual turmoil for decades now." Now, I am not one judge the merits of a comment merely because he or she who said it or a group based on one comment. However, it seems that this is an eminently sane and elegant partial explanation. When diocesan officials can be so in tune with the Faith that they can commit acts which publicly renounce and vitiate the Faith, clearly the hiring practices of the diocese need to be veted. But that's just me again...

I Guess At Least One of Those Consents Are Valid...

... or not. Can you see the real potential for invalidity.

Terry Schiavo, Round Two?

I beg to differ post #138402

The find is starling; the page it was open to is coincidental. Given that about 1/5 of the Psalms deal with Israel pleading for assistance against its enemies, the odds are pretty good you would have found one of those pages on top. Either way, it is a remarkable find given all the things which were against it.

St. Peregrine, pray for him!

Sorry, I am a little behind on this. I read somewhere that the surgery went off without a hitch. Let us remember him so that his recovery will be swift and he can get back to the head of his flock.