A happy, blessed and peaceful Easter Octave day to my faithful three or four readers! I must confess that the Triduum was not what I had hoped for - unfortunately, I allowed myself to be distracted by the venomous, serpentine and diabolic attacks on the Holy Father and the Church which reached a spittle-flecked crescendo on Easter Day. I was so distracted that, during the Vigil, I forgot to get the people to renew their Baptismal vows until we had started the intercessions - mea culpa - I am sure they think their priest is a moron! However, I had a lovely call from a parishioner this evening - a mother of five and a great inspiration to me - she told me to stop listening to the news - they loved their priest and they loved the Holy Father - thank God for parishioners like that!
10 comments:
Don't worry, Father... no one thought you were a moron. Though, I did wonder when you would remember the renewal! You redeemed yourself well with the witty comment about putting the candles out with Holy Water.
On a more serious note, amidst the difficulty and the trials, there is much for which to be grateful. For example, the appointment of Abp. Gomez as the successor to Mahoney in LA. Excellent news, indeed. Though I'm not sure the Mahoney fanclub is very pleased... orthodoxy is not exactly the norm in the LA Archdiocese (though it has survived in pockets). I pray that Abp. Gomez, through the intercession of Our Lady and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will be able to restore Tradition and morality to the Catholic community in LA.
Holy Mother Church shall prevail. God never promised us that the Church would always be large in numbers. Indeed, if but a remnant survives, therein lies the Church. She will always be tormented, persecuted. But so long as holy and devoted priests such as yourself continue to preach the Truth, all shall not be lost; there is no room for despair.
At any rate, "Happy Octave" to you, as well. See you at church. It's far too late now, and I must get some sleep. Otherwise, my organ playing may be a bit sloppy. See you soon!
I agree with that Mother! We need to pray, pray, pray for our Holy Father and all Priests.
Happy Easter, Father. Don't worry about things like almost skipping the renewal of Baptismal promises. When I used to work with the young servers, I told them "do your best, and if you make a mistake, don't overstress...trust me, Holy Week FATHER is reviewing what HE'S supposed to do!
One year our pastor almost skipped the prayer of the faithful on Holy THursday. [I was close enough to put the bug in his ear, and he thanked me for my "MC duties" on that one.]
I don't know if I should mention it or not. But DAwkins and that creeep C. Hitchens are going to try and get the pope arrested when he goes to the UK. One wonders where the lawyers are who should say "get the h-e-double hockey sticks outta my office." I read it in the Torygraph this morning. So in case, for some odd reason you need to raise your blood pressure, see here, otherwise, don't bother. I found the comments more annoying than the actual article. PT Barnum was right.
BTW, how do you keep an atheist from drowning? Take your foot off his head. Dawkins and Hitchens and other assorted ilk are proof that there are beings lower on the food chain than serial killers. Do they carry on about Roman Polanski, who actually did rape someone personally who is a golden boy among the atheist left? Thought not!
Father Ben
They really do. We must leave this in the hands of the Lord. Happy Eastertide.
I actually spent Holy Week thanking God for the sacrifices of our priests and praying for the Holy Father. We have a "baby" priest in our parish, and I reflected on just how much courage it took to become a priest right now. We truly are thankful for all of you, and we love the Holy Father. We are sometimes tempted to take a pitchfork to the enemies of the Church, but it's probably better to simply keep telling the truth and turning the other cheek.
Something I came upon in a traditional Catholic forum:
User "littlerose" said of the media and the attackers, "We need to place ourselves outside them. We are entering an occasion of serious sin when we allow these things to distract us and arouse angry and fearful emotions in us. Those emotions make us vulnerable to manipulation. If we ignore the stories after giving concerned friends a simple clear answer, and just go about our lives and our devotional habits as if the scandals do not exist (for in truth, an awful lot of it is repetition, exageration, and even fiction) others will see that the Church is strong and inviolate.
Just like any woman who has to walk down a street where men are disrespectful. She learns very young to ignore them, and insodoing she earns their respect. Then those few who still do not respect her generally get their comeuppance from the ones who do. The Church is Christ's Bride and unfortunately right now the Bride is walking along a very nasty street."
I doubt anyone was fazed by the placement of the renewal. If they were, they'll just have to get over it, won't they.
Today our Holy Father has again shown what a saintly man he is. He's viciously & falsely accused, and he speaks of the grace of penance and purification. Dawkins, et al, will someday realize they are ranting and raging into the wind. Their words do come back void.
Hey, Fr. Owl...extra busy April? We've missed your posts!
Say, Owl, are you planning on going to ChesterTen in August?
Hi Fr. Ben,
I don't know if you remember me, but I was a student at the Catholic Center when you were there - my last name has changed since (married) but I still remember your homilies (my friend Laura whispering "banal? what does banal mean", and your reporting on the Olympics, in particular). I'm glad to see that you are well - and praying for you and your fellow priests, especially during these times.
I agree with your parishioner - I've personally found that taking a break from the news can really help. It's not necessarily that news is an evil thing in and of itself, but that anything that chips away at our faith or causes undue frustration, turmoil, distraction, is playing right into the devil's hands. I've found myself wallowing in that frustration too often lately, but only when I allow myself too much time with the news... Holy Mother Church will prevail. In the meantime... I find myself turning back to the tried and true, Phillipans 4: 6-9: "Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you."
Praying that His peace will be with you, and in all His church!
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