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“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
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Went to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass last night in Waterbury, CT at the Basillica of the Immaculate Conception. It is such a blessing to have this readily available now.
Early last week my mother-in-law went to emergency with severe abdominal pain. A CAT scan indicated that she had a lesion on the bowel, which needed to be investigated immediately. On Wednesday she was scheduled to have a scope on Friday. The call for prayer went around like wildfire in our small city. She had her scope done on Friday and to the doctors amazement he couldn’t find anything. He had to check the CAT scan again to ensure that he had the right patient. Not a thing. Thanks be to God.
The marching band I work for went to District contest on Saturday. I prayed for the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help on behalf of the students during our moment of silence in warm-ups. The Blessed Mother must have been listening as the band received its first ever Gold rating and are now headed to Regional competition (again, another first for the school). Regional competition will be held on October 17th. If possible, please ask for the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Cecilia (patron of musicians) on our students behalf; and pray for a safe trip to the contest (Regionals are a three hour drive from the school).
Thanks and God Bless all who read Fr. Z’s blog!
Well,
Two weeks ago, I got engaged.
A week ago, our engagement was blessed through the Solemnification of Engagement ceremony at St. John Cantius in Chicago.
Last Thursday i found out I passed the Illinois Bar exam.
Life is looking up!
My Grandfather and I are reunited after over a year and a half of silence between us. I’m continually amazed at the wonderful providence of God. May he be praised.
After submitting a doctoral thesis, I’m back home where my solidly OF parish is also solidly Saying the Black and Doing the Red! And a ferraiulo has been sighted!
Tried for the 1st Thursday plenary indulgence and baptismal anniversary plenary indulgence on Saturday. Gave out Tootsie Rolls with the Knights of Columbus to raise funds for the mentally handicapped. My 6-yr-old son was eager to help and his donation can quickly became much heavier than mine. There are still a lot of kind and generous people out there. I was grateful to see that.
Even the Gay activist, dissenting Catholic, and conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan (of the Atlantic’s Daily Dish) is talking about the “exquisite and much missed” “Latin mass”:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/10/mental-health-break-1.html
Err, …brick by brick!
Learning to serve the extrodinary Form!!
Our 2nd child Elizabeth Rose was born on Friday. She’s beautiful and the labor went well drawing us all together as a family.
My colleague and I are having our first day in our new office!
We just found out we’re having our beloved Fr. of the FSSP come to our town for Christmas Day! Thanks be to God.
I am also praying for you, Father! :-)
WOW!
JDSkyles, you have some amazing things going on! Congratulations and blessings on your future marriage.
medievalist: Do you mind if I ask what your doctoral thesis is on? Thanks!
My recent good news from my sons in the U.S.: the one in Nebraska in the FSSP seminary called saying all is well and that he’s loving his theology course and the one in Arizona called confirming he’s completing his PhD by the end of this year :)
Praise the Lord!
Our 28 year old daughter, Erika, is expecting her second child on Thanksgiving day and is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. All things with the baby look very good and the community has come together across three counties, to hold a benefit for her. The offers of help just keep pouring in…God is good!
Gabriella,
Congrats on having a son in the seminary, you must feel very blessed! Also, congrats on your other son’s soon to be completed PhD!
Michael Maedoc,
Congrats on your new arrival! Glad to hear that mother and daughter are doing well!
Less than a week until the Call To Holiness conference in Detroit this Saturday. Looking forward to visiting my old hometown, and to hearing (and hopefully meeting) Father Z!
The Legion of Mary here in Pittsburgh hosted a Rosary March and Eucharistic Procession in the streets of downtown Pittsburgh yesterday. Exposition was at Epiphany Church (near Mellon Arena where the Pens play) and after a homily was preached by the chaplain for the Legion of Mary, we processed one mile to St. Mary of Mercy Church with Our Lord and Our Lady of Fatima. At St. Mary’s, Our Lady was crowned and the event closed with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. A beautiful way to spend a Sunday!
I was finally able to get to confession.
I’m feeling baby #3 (pregnancy #5) kicking more and more every day… our 20-week anatomy ultrasound is on Friday and I’m praying for a good outcome (no reason to expect otherwise, thankfully).
My pregnant niece underwent a successful surgery to remove her cancerous thyroid. Mom and baby are doing fine.
Our parish had a great turn-out for yesterday’s Life Chain.
Oh, and right now there’s a peach cheesecake baking in the oven!
MR Drive is almost here , which has ran my life for a solid two months, but I dont mind. I will be 30 next monday… one day after the drive is done. My joy is that of anticipation :)
Getting to Daily Mass and the toddler was quiet today except for a few chirps. Making progress in my studies towards a BA in (good) Theology. Remembered to put dinner in the crock pot. Got the OK to ramp up a mom’s prayer group. Feeling pretty upbeat despite the overcast day (I’m prone to seasonal depression – was a bad week last week for this heliotrope). God is at work in my family even if the visible effects are incremental. And right now, the toddler is napping. Bliss. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for all your blessings.
1.) My wife and I welcomed our fifth child – all boys! – last Tuesday evening.
2.) After driving 45 miles each way to Mass every Sunday and holy day for ten years, we’ve finally gotten a local T.L.M. just 10 min. from our house. The first Sunday Mass was yesterday.
3.)The baby was baptised after Mass.
4.)My protestant in-laws we’re full of questions yesterday, both for the priests who came over to the house for the celebration afterward and later in the evening for my wife and me. They’ve attended the T.L.M. before, but perhaps they were paying closer attention because their two eldest grandsons were serving (if not flawlessly, sufficiently well), or maybe it was the content and symbolism of the traditional Baptismal ritual. Either way it’s good news as we’ve been praying for their conversion for a long time…
All-in-all a good week I’d say!
As I wrote you last week, my friend’s daughter in Minnesota, Josephine Murray, was placed in the ICU suffering from H1N1 (Bird Flu) and double pneumonia.
I received word today that Josie has been responding to treatment and that no secondary infection has set in. She is down to one antibiotic (from three) and after a week on a ventilator is breathing partially on her own. She will likely leave the ICU by the end of the week.
Josie will need a long stretch of respiratory therapy and will undergo an operation to correct a congenital defect in her mitral valve (typical with Down Syndrome).
I addition to your prayers, people from around the world have written. The roll call spans the U.S. (New York, West Virginia, Florida, Washington, California) and the globe (Philippines, Indonesia & Brazil).
While not a miraculous recovery, Josie began to improve after a relic of Mother Teresa was sent to her family. I believe Mother has been caring for this special one of God’s children.
I finally have a diagnosis to what’s been ailing me, a great rheumatologist helping me and I started classes towards a Master’s of Arts in Biblical Theology at John Paul the Great Catholic Church this week. Through the joy, sorrow, pain and relief, God’s abundant love has shown through it all. I’m am so grateful for all the blessings He has bestowed!
I served at a beautiful wedding in the extraordinary form and served my first Mass as MC this past weekend. Also, the Bishop has responded sympathetically to our petition and is going to make efforts to establish a weekly Mass in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He’s agreed to meet with us to discuss the potential arrangement. More on our blog:
http://kingstontlm.blogspot.com
My sister, who was critically ill from liver and kidney failure due to a freak medical condition that developed in the last three months, received new organs on Wednesday and is recovering well. She was put on the organ transplant waiting list only last Saturday, and a man died in the same hospital on Tuesday afternoon and was found to be a match. I credit this to the fact that my mother invoked the intercession of St. Anthony on Tuesday morning, asking him to find replacements for my sister’s “lost” organs. St Anthony has always been good to my mother, but he outdid himself this time. Please take a moment to offer a prayer for the soul of the generous and anonymous deceased man who gave my sister the gift of life. Thanks.
I just got Volume 3 of the Collegeville breviary in today! Now I have the complete set, and will be praying the Divine Office in the old form.
Baby #2 healthy and due to be here in January.
Guadalupe Shrine continues see success in their works.
Twins are a game away from winning the division!
Luke: It’s on something very apt for this blog…interactions between clerics and laity in the high Middle Ages.
Sucessful surgery (endometriosis removal) ahead of original date, and by the most reputable surgeon in the country. I am recovering well, one week post-op.
This brings an end to 10 months of increased, nearly constant abdominal pain. The best news is that I will likely be able to have a few more children.
Thank you, Lord!
The first informational meeting for the Parish’s 40-ish teenaged Confirmation candidates of this year went well. The parents AND students AND pastor seemed to be enthused, which is not the easiest happy medium to achieve.
medievalist: Do you mean that wonderful age brought in by the birth of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and ended with the birth of St. Thomas Aquinas? Ahha. I’m assuming you also dissected one of the many conflicts such as between Pope Gregory VII and German Henry IV. Of course I could be wrong, but you still picked a rich time in history. Thanks for responding.
AndyKl: Do you mean the more beautifully translated 5 Psalms instead of 3 with a…psalm prayer that only in the American edition? (I always skip that because I don’t figure it’s really part of the prayer of the Church)
Another grace for me–and certainly a high point in my life–is my wife. I have witnessed her most beautiful and profound conversion to generous love and I’m still tongue-tied: I don’t even know how to begin thanking God.
Luke:
YES INDEED! It’s very nice to be able to escape the LotH (even though it’s decent, if you’re a big NOer…). I can’t wait to get familiar with it, and pray it!
Now, if only the EF would pop up in Terre Haute… Then I wouldn’t have to go an hour away for the TLM…. :-p
My wife and I celebrated our first anniversary on the fourth–Not bad for two folks over forty and first marriage each!
AndyKl:
Wonderful! I do love the NO when it’s done well, although I can’t wait for the new translation of the Roman Missal. My wife and I used to drive 85 miles (Every Sunday…) to go to Mass said by a priest who never did anything off the wall. God has had a sense of humor in my life, but that’s another story. We don’t want to swap stories like that here, of course.
That being said, I do like the Grail Psalter for the breviary prayers. It’s not my favorite translation by far, but it does pray well. My favorite–not unlike yours it would seem–is the more literal translation from a Latin text. The meaning is portrayed in a much more far-reaching manner. Thanks for sharing that.
Another big grace for me is the fact that we have a home to live in at a time in our lives that we would otherwise be homeless. I’ve had some health issues for a while and I’ve been astounded at God’s providence for those who love him.
I just attended my 2nd Sunday EF Mass. And thanks to the celebrant’s homily (or sermon?) and Fr. Corapi, I’ll be going to a Tuesday night group rosary at the local parish.
I’ll probably be the only person there under 40 (let alone 20.) But I’m just getting a head start for when I’m old :)
This is a query about good news.
A priest I know is going to Rome for the canonization next Sunday of the Venerable Damien of Molokai, the “Leper Priest.” It’s also the day of the canonization of Venerable Jean Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
He suggested that I given him a written request to the Pope with any special intentions that I have. Fortuitously, I really do have a special intention regarding a nephew.
I never have heard of “written requests” being presented to the Pope. Is this something people generally do when they have friends traveling to Rome?
Mass. With a homily about St. Faustina though she isn’t on the calendar in my diocese.
I got a “B” in a class entitled “Dynamic Web Applications.” This involves the fundamentals of PHP scripting language, and basic knowledge of MySQL database programming, working in conjunction with XHTML/CSS-based web design. This was my last class before preparing for final portfolio, and graduating from the Art Institute this spring. I had failed the class a year ago, and I’ve never ever failed a class. I owe it to the grace of perseverance.
I’m expecting another baby, who obligingly showed us a tiny little heartbeat at eight weeks on ultrasound. Reassuring after two miscarriages, but I’ll feel better once out of the first trimester.
let’s see…
I got to go to confession on Saturday, yay for wheels. Um… one of the best people I know is coming to spend Christmas with me, and if he would comment more often on this here blog, he’d see this. LOL, kidding Dear. What else, oh yeah, the twins are 1 game away from the division title… go get ’em Boys! I’ll be watching tomorrow, woo hoo!
My great news is that I attended my third RCIA session yesterday! :)
Last week, the new parish of the North American Martyrs in Seattle, WA celebrated its one year anniversary with a first-ever Solemn High Mass — the first time this form of the Latin Mass has been seen in the Seattle Archdiocese for 45 years. Joined by Archbishop Alexander Brunett, Fr. Gerard Saguto, FSSP (parish pastor) celebrated Mass joined by fellow priests of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.
After 7 years of a single, Sunday-only indult Mass, we can hardly believe the beauty and overwhelming joy as well as a profound sense of the sacred at Holy Mass that we now relish on a daily basis. Our weekly Mass attendance has grown 5-fold in just one year. Parishioners poured out their time and talents for the Solemn High Mass to build the bishop’s chair, recreate missing pieces of 150 year old vestments and serve in any way possible for this joyous celebration of the Mass.
Video clip of a portion of the Mass with the beautiful sacred music (Choir Director Paul Grady)…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6S1GEh_xOw
Vestment details recreated…
http://catholicembroidery.com/Site/The_Orphrey_Project.html
Pictures of the Mass…
http://michaelcurtis.zenfolio.com/p218988185/h21555c17#h1fa7f7a2
Article of the High Mass from the Seattle PI (a very liberal paper)…
http://www.seattlepi.com/connelly/410557_joel26.html
Article about the parish’s formation — 1 year ago…
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008231419_latinmass06m.html
Parish website…(note the pictures in the header here are from the tiny chapel we were in for 7 years)…
http://www.northamericanmartyrs.org/
Please pray for our priest and parish. You may be assured of our prayers for your inspiring priesthood.
I was finally able to get to St. Joseph’s in Troy, New York, the new site for the TLM following the sad closing of St. Peter’s. But I’m happy to report that there is a healthy following and that the Carmelites who run St. Joseph’s seem to be quite welcoming.
Congrats to all the new parents and to the newly-engaged bar-exam-passer. It is a joy to read these posts.
About five months ago I prayed my first novena, ever, for my developmentally delayed daughter to at least, if nothing else, be able to call me “Mommy.”
Last Friday I had to take her out of daily Mass because she was joyfully shouting “Mommy! Mommy!” Prayers of thanksgiving offered (from outside the nave). She has come so far in the last few months–frankly, since the novena–that her therapist is amazed. She had made essentially no developmental progress in half a year, and then … Now we’re looking at normalcy, in the not-distant future.
At a recent Ember mass, our pastor reminded us that when we fast and pray alone, it is good for our soul, but when we fast and pray with the church, we become a great army. This truly inspired me. I have kept the Ember fast before, but this time, it was a joy. My sufferings since then have been much easier to bear. To fast with the church on only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday just isn’t enough!
o.h.:
That’s amazing! I’ll def. pray for you and your daughter (even though you didn’t ask).
God is good.
Our Pastor and 43 members of our parish family left today for Rome for the Canonization of Blessed Damian of Molokai. I was unable to go but will follow the festivities on EWTN and look forward to there return. Its a wonderful time for us here in the Diocese of Honolulu.
My good news:
http://www.fallaciesandfashions.com/2009/09/missa-cantata-now-thats-worship.html
Two pink lines on a pregnancy test. Two elated parents. Three children who have been praying for a sibling. One amazing God.
I LOVE when you have this category!!! What wonderful uplifting news from everyone!! (…and what a bunch of “brains” read this site!)
Received the indulgence on Thursday (thank you Fr. Z for the reminder) Enjoyed a “power house” week of Saints! Our Father gave me the grace to truly thank Him for the incredible blessing of my husband and children!
Praise the Lord for He is Good! His mercy endures forever!
I went to Auriesville Shrine last Saturday-the 3rd-and prayed my Rosary while walking down to the Ravine where St. Rene Goupil, the first of the North American Martyrs-is buried. Very peaceful, not too many bugs on the way down.
Later in the morning, I visited one of the staff members with whom I’ve become friends [found out we share the same birthday, two years apart!]. Then I met three traditional Sisters from a convent I know downstate; they were at the shrine with several members of their girls’ Sodality. Quite a surprise-didn’t know they were coming!
Oh, how I would have loved to go to the canonization of Blessed Father Damien in Rome this coming weekend….I envy those posters who are!
Back in April I prayed that God would take away something that had crept into my life over the past two years–loneliness. A week or two later I met a truly beautiful woman and we are progressing quite well if I must say so myself. Now I need to remember to keep praying to say “thank you”!!
Greetings and blessings to you all here at Father Z.’s wonderful site.
Pax,
Mike
One more great thing I forgot– my nine-year-old son, who has always struggled academically versus his siblings, has finally started reading for pleasure. This is a huge milestone. We struggled and struggled with reading, and it was always such a drudge and a chore for him. Finally, a book clicked with him, and he started pulling some of the marathon reading sessions the other kids and I have been known to indulge in. Thankfully, it’s a whole series of books. He just finished the second last night and is raring to dive into the third.
More good news for my wife and me: I just found a doctor who may be able to find answers to a chronic medical problem that changed our lives. Deo volente…
I’m just thankful to live my monastic life as a priest, each day loving and serving the Lord, even if it is difficult and I find myself so unworthy of such an awesome vocation…
Celebrating 19th wedding anniversary today