Folks, I am in need of some good news. Do you have any for me and for the other readers?
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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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I have a new baby girl who is happy and healthy. She was recently welcomed into the Church by baptism in the Extraordinary Form.
Deo Gratias.
I found a flash drive that I thought I had lost a year ago with all the data still on it.
I was playing a Tridentine Mass on my computer, and my daughter started randomly singing in Latin in the house (she is 5). She’s never formally learned any Latin. Those kids in the video weren’t coached.
““Out of the mouth of infants and of sucklings thou hast perfected praise, because of thy enemies, that thou mayst destroy the enemy and the avenger.” (Psalm 8:3, D-R)”
My boss was only “mildly” injured (and quite shaken up) by a worksite accident that could have been crippling.
My wife is recovering from a recent illness.
The neighborhood Gucci-wannabees did not set the neighborhood on fire during their celebrations of the 4th of July (likewise the 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, June 30th, etc…)
Our terrific young parochial vicar is getting his own parish. Sad for us, good for him. But, good for us, his replacement is a just-ordained, also terrific young priest who is trained in both the EF and OF. While I suspect it may be awhile, if ever, before we see an EF Mass at our parish, I look forward to the continuing liturgical improvements in the OF which we have seen over the last year or so. Best wishes to both young priests in their new assignments!
Ten days without a crutch or pills. A very nice break. 7 weeks and 4 days to my vacation retreat. I am not as sad any more, I am healing I think after a disaster a year and a half ago.
Our 4 year old put rosaries on our 3 year old and 1 year old like a necklace. He has never seen anyone do this. I was about to ask him why he did that when he looked at each of them and said “Now you have Jesus right next to your heart, and that is very important.”
Expecting our first child, a male with the official due date of October 22nd. He may be named after our late blessed Holy Father with that feast day!
We have Father John Zuhsldorf.
Deo gratias!
Had a great 4th of July celebration with family! The fried chicken was yummy. Learned how to make a great strawberry creme pie.
We heard our baby’s beautiful heartbeat again yesterday — always a wonderful and reassuring sound. His/her sisters and brother are so excited for their new sibling’s December arrival!
i was pretty sick last week and had to take an exam anyways. i’m starting to feel better now and found out that i did well on that exam.
My boss left an hour early today. Woo-hoo!
We may be having a new Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Charlotte, NC, diocese.
@Otto CONGRATS!!!
Some good news to remember: Jesus is Risen from the Dead.
17 Dominican Novices have been approved to make their Simple Profession on August 15, 2011 for the Province of St. Joseph (Eastern). http://bit.ly/oHwUWp (All are welcome)
13 Men will enter novitiate and receive the Dominican habit on August 8, 2011 http://bit.ly/pNRQ7l
For approximately one week we will have 30 novices. The first time they will all be together is right after vestition (private ceremony) on August 8, 2011 in St. Gertrude Church in Cincinnati at the 11:30AM Mass. It should be quite a sight…Pray for these men!
The Dominican Province of St. Joseph has begun to train their friars in the Dominican Rite http://bit.ly/qZOSKa
I just confessed and received absolution! : )
Scary couple of days last week. Ambulance trip to the hospital for my 90 year old Mom. Good news, pacemaker implanted one day, 24 hours later we’re all home sitting around the table! Wow, I thank God for Doctors and medicine, but mostly for his love and faithfulness. I thank him for the gift of our Mother who passed on the faith to her children and sacrificed so much to send us to Catholic schools. God is good.
The amazing newly-ordained priest that just got assigned to our parish as associate pastor has started to act as *ordinary* minister of Holy Communion at the Sunday Masses he does not himself offer. Never seen before in our parish. :-)
…just got back safely from a quick family reunion- mom, dad, five siblings with spouses and 20 cousins…and I have a working laundry machine and hot water to do all that after-trip-laundry
Wife is due July 30th. As of this Saturday she’ll be able to give birth at the local birthing center rather then have to go to the hospital. A friend and I are meeting with our pastor on July 20th about starting a TLM locally. If succesful, it will be the first regular TLM in the Diocese of Juneau. We have two priests who know the TLM, but it is not celebrated regularly anywhere, and those two priests are not located in my city (you have to fly or take a boat to travel in or out of most parishes in my diocese). Oh, and the best news of all, my Mystic Monk coffee order arrived and I made some this morning. YUM!
Our beloved pastor was unexpected transferred, but his replacement was the first confessor of one of my sons. My son says he feels like he won the lottery.
My brother just went on a fishing vacation. They got nothing the first three days, and then the last day they got a bunch of beautiful halibut. He’s safely back home, and had some of his catch last night: Delicious!!
I have a friend getting chemo, and she still hasn’t felt sick yet, even though her hair is falling out. She’s also having a spiritual renaissance. Praise God for that!
My 12 year olds are getting along great today, and it is finally sunny here in Oregon, just a beautiful day. I already took the kids to the park so they could play some baseball before it got hot. One of the great things in life is to watch kids play baseball.
I felt lousy when I woke up, but right now, I feel really good.
The last piece of good news is that I’m going to turn off the computer and go get some stuff done!!
Alive and healthy, a roof, enough food, family and friends, and still employed. Otherwise… Deus meus illuminat tenebras meas.
Making some sun tea thanks to your inspiration!
I haven’t completely lost hope.
From the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest-
“On Thursday, July 7, 2011, His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke will ordain four new priests for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest: Rev. Messrs. Federico Pozza, Bertrand Bergerot, Matthieu Thermed and Brieuc de la Brosse… This week of grace which closes the seminary year will also see the ordination of two deacons (in addition to the three that were ordained by His Eminence in January), seven subdeacons, and some thirty minor orders, while the dozen first year seminarians receive the cassock and tonsure.”
Dear Father Z,
Happy that you write this blog, that I am married to a very good woman, that my Father is still alive and well, that I have a job, that I live in a free country, that I am a Catholic, that I have returned to my faith after many years, that I have my sight to see the beauty of this world, etc. Please note that these are not in any particular order. It is always good to take the time and give thanksgiving.
Thanks for making me pause and give this a thought. God bless.
A dear friend is recovering well from surgery. Another friend had a serious illness discovered and treated. This is remarkable because he was showing absolutely no symptoms when his doctor suggested running some tests. God is good!
The Anglican Use Conference begins tomorrow at St. Mary the Virgin, Arlington, TX. Among the speakers will be Msgr. Keith Newton, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England and Wales and Fr. John Hunwicke. Celebrant at the Solemn Mass will be Bishop Vann, who has been helping Cardinal Wuerl gather data on those wishing to enter the Ordinariate when established. It should be a wonderful time of prayer, fellowship, and learning.
Deo gratias!
The packing for our move is going well. We have found a good orthodox parish in our new city and our son has been accepted to the parish school. We have also secured an apartment.
Last week I attended my first TLM on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in KC. Words cannot express the beauty and reverence I witnessed.
In June our Associate Pastor was transfered and He Said a TLM once a month for us. By Fr. being Transfered, It makes you feel like an orphan again…….the Associate was wonderful, and said both forms of Holy Mass very Reverently…..Praise be Jesus Christ.
Then the new Associate who has been in other another parish in the diocese has stepped up and said he will say the High Masses for us, would be nice if we had them more than once a month…..not complaining though……..
Deo Gratias! :)
My wife just posted a video about the TLM at our parish in honor of the anniversary of Summorum Pontificum. Deo Gratias!
http://totustuusfamily.blogspot.com/2011/07/gods-hand-in-latin-mass-my-video.html
My daughter and youngest grandson are coming for a visit ! :)
My son (age 6) had pneumonia. His lungs got the all-clear from the pediatrician yesterday.
Well, I recovered from a miscarriage in January and am pregnant again with a due date sometime in February! It is too early to know the baby’s gender but we’ll have the first pictures tomorrow to verify if there is a normal singleton or if I conceived twins again.
Through the intercession of St. Joseph, our daughter sold her little condo in three days, closed escrow in less than a month! All of this in our questionable economy!
As in a comment above, how grateful I am for the Faith that was passed on to me. I have every holy card my late grandmother sent me when I was a child, and how I treasure them!
The middle-aged pastor recently assigned to a parish in my deanery restored the Tabernacle to its rightful location just in time for Corpus Christi. Brick by brick.
I joined Corpus Christianum. I was hesitant at first because I was not sure if I could keep the discipline asked of the members; so far so good though!! It’s amazing how commiting to a such a worthy endeavor changes one’s perspective on the wise use of time :)
Five days, from Thursday through yesterday evening late, we “lived” without air conditioning in the Phoenix area, temperatures between 105-117. Today, the unit is repaired, the house is cool, DRY (blessed be God!!) and livable again. Oh, I am a spoiled old lady but such a grateful one!!
Three new priests ordained in our diocese this past week. We’re noticing increased reverence whenever the priest is young, or young to the Church!
The Order of the Holy Cross (Opus Angelorem) has purchased a beautiful tract of land in Carrollton, Ohio (Diocese of Steubenville). They will build a beautiful Chapel, Monastery, Convent and a building for their American headquarters. What a gift to the Diocese!
My eldest son, who has had to overcome major hurdles in his seventeen years, just finished up his orientation at the local state U. Not-so-minor miracle: even with budget cuts and class overcrowding, he has managed to get registered into all his required courses for this fall.
It’s been terrifically hot here, (St. Paul), and I worry about my rabbits. Found an air conditioner for their shed for $25 on Craigslist. Really! (Audrey has four, four week olds right now.)
2nd post … Discovered and am enjoying a wonderful book called ” Divine Intimacy Meditations on the Interior Life for Every Day of the Liturgical Year ” by Father Gabriel of St Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.
pax et bonum
The Diocese of Dallas now has another Latin Mass. It’s the Ordinary Form, and on Monday nights but it’s a start. And it features Gregorian Chant.
I walked the whole pilgrimage to Chartres, France from Notre Dame, Paris.
All 72 miles of it in 3 days. I never walked anywhere close to that ever. Clearly,
there was help from above.
Deo Gratias !
I have the next three days off. The sun is shining, and I’m relaxing outside with my dog, a case of beer, a steak on the barbecue, my laptop, and St. Augustine’s Confessions, living the good life while I have the house to myself for the next two weeks.
Oh, and the annoying postal strike is over.
My month old daughter, who had us worried for a few weeks due to slow weight gain, is finally past her birth weight and thriving. Her 3 older brothers and sisters can’t get enough of her!
The brothers and priests staying with us for their annual retreat spontaneously decided to have 24 hrs. of Adoration yesterday, though it wasn’t on their schedule; and today they let me know they’d be late to the planned social before dinner because they wouldn’t finish Benediction in time. They postponed wine and cheese to have more time with Our Lord!
Keep fighting Father, there are many other good priests in the battle with you.
The priest who married us 23 years ago celebrates his golden jubilee next week
I got 2 pints of blueberries at Aldi for $1.29/pint and made a very delicious pie. I shared it with friends from church at the free Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra “Concerts On the Square” on the grounds of the State Capital Building. The theme was patriotic music and included the 1812 Overture with pyrotechnic “cannon” booms. Then I went to the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel to visit my Beloved, and thought about the great beauty and dignity of the soul; every person is a capacity for God and was made for goodness and truth.
A 6 yr old child with CP in an Eastern European orphanage, for whom I have been an advocate for nearly a year, is getting adopted by a dear family who prayed their way into the decision. If the child hadn’t been selected for adoption this month, he was going to be transferred to an adult institution for invalids and likely would have died. Thank you God for saving Anton!
There are 34 children signed up for Chant Camp at our parish… so far.
Give us a few years and we hope to be worthy of a Fr. Z visit (St. Anne’s, San Diego).
I am going to be a grandma again this fall. Our pastor and assistant have instituted longer confession times and the lines are getting longer. And most of the ones going to confession are young adults.
I held my first grandchild last week. Mother and baby are doing fine.
This weekend I made (for the first time): Home-made corn dogs, seared steak, and . . . rendered lard. (All of my cooking I learned from Fr. Z. and Alton Brown.)
I think…I’m ready to go back to Confession. Please pray for me.
Other good news: new car, we’re finally getting around to having our dryer fixed, and it’s been four years since Summorum Pontificum.
This is all good news to hear!
Grape jelly now being served in the back yard. Welcome all traveling orioles. You may tweet your thanks to Fr. Z for his suggestion and for leading the way. There was one minor issue in that the old feeder I planned to use for this seems to have become inhabited by a bunch of menacing wasps, but no matter as I was able to find a temporary home in more hospitable quarters anyway.
Attending the Medieval-Renaissance Music Conference in Barcelona. Fabulous scholarship presented by the best in the business. Heard a nice concert of Victoria in a 13th century chapel on Tuesday as well.
benedetta –
You can either spray the old feeder thoroughly with wasp spray (the kind with the stream that lets you stand back 15-20 feet and soak it), or if you prefer prepare a large tub of water, drop the feeder into it and then RUN LIKE BLAZES! I’ve used both methods.
More apostolates are opening for the FSSP, two I know of personally. Houston, Texas will mean four in this State, including the ones now in Dallas, Corpus Christi and Tyler. The other is in Richmond, Virginia. I hear there are others. Praise God, two altar servers from St. Stephen the First Martyr Parish in Sacramento, CA, are entering the FSSP seminary. Deo Gratias.
Phillip — Wonderful! Just put one foot ahead of another and go, and the angels will be cheering for you!
My good news — I think the building maintenance folks figured out why my upstairs neighbor’s shower was dripping into my ceiling and wall. At first they thought it was condensation, but when I told them I’d just collected a couple quarts of water in a bucket that was coming through the light fixture hole while my neighbor took his morning shower, they changed their minds. It probably was the “weeping holes” in the pipe getting plugged up, since they fixed it so fast.
Heh, maybe that’s the trouble with our society — we keep plugging up our weeping over bad things, and then it seeps out all over the good things that should make us smile.
Healthy baby girl born in the car! Thanks be to God for our guardian angels! Archbishop of Milwaukee celebrated his first Traditional Confirmation. Floods of pilgrims seek Our Lady at newly confirmed OLO Good Help Shrine near Green Bay. Hoping to have KCs sponsor diocesan TLM in my city.
Last Saturday (July 2) I went to a convent of traditional Sisters which I know, and attended their ceremonies of Clothing and Profession. And it was also the first time that a Silver Jubilee of Profession was celebrated by one of the Sisters-she got rather emotional when making her renewal of vows and had to stop speaking for a few moments. I had a wonderful time-and I found out that one of the three new novices took St. Joan of Arc as her name in religion!
And I’m going back there again for Mass this Sunday (there’s a 15K road race near our chapel, so no Mass locally for us), and will be staying in the area for a few days!
The Cardinals lost. The ST. LOUIS Cardinals. Not the College of Cardinals.
That’s worth a smile.
Thanks for the ideas, AnAmericanMother. There is actually a can of spray leftover from last year, I figure, it will work. I was able to discover that wasps and hornets are not active after dark. The beasts and I have a rendezvous with destiny in a few minutes when the sun has fully set. To blast away under cover of darkness. Sorry for the lame 70s movie allusion, but if anyone would like to cue up the helicopter scene from Apocalypse Now…not to be overly melodramatic…At any rate I let the vast majority of creepy crawly things be where I encounter them even indoors generally however like Fr. Z and squirrels/rats one acknowledges that there are occurring some creatures who clearly draw the line in the sand, us versus you…sting or be stung. I am heading out to hunt them down rather than hang around and wait for one to sting as I leisurely pass by their claimed territory…wish me “success”.
Well that was primordial. Far from the legendary Scorcese Kilgore scene from the epic 70s work, it was much more like Hank & Roy hunting mosquitos on, yes, Monty Python…”There’s nothing more dangerous than a wounded mosquito…”
Had great meeting with my boss today and found out that, not only am I doing great at my job, but the job that was set to end in early October is going to be a temp job, but an indefinite job. YAY! Thank you so much St. Joseph! Also, the Twins are currently beating Chicago. Go Twins!
You know, Fr. Z., I was reflecting on 07/07/07 tonight, and I am inspired to think about all that has happened in the four short years since “Tridentine Liberation Day”… both personally and in the larger Church. There is a lot to be thankful for. I read a bunch of entries from 2007 tonight and got a new taste of the excitement of those heady days. I recalled the first time I celebrated the EF Mass. I said a prayer for all those who were so scandalized by this most generous gift from our Holy Father. I thanked God that the sun, indeed, has not fallen out of the sky in the last few years as so many of the early detractors warned (I got a particular chuckle out of your fisk of Sr. Chittiser’s column.) I offered a prayer for the acceptance of our new English translation.
I’ve only been a priest a half-dozen years or so–not that long–but I can already see in the experiences and training of the newly ordained and the seminarians of the last couple years shows me that I’m already obsolete–a dinosaur of a day when every liturgical battle was done in bloody, costly, ‘hand-to-hand’ combat with pastors, rectors, and others… and this was all without the hope of SP on the horizon. All we were looking for in the early 2000’s were the smallest of concessions– a little Eucharistic Adoration on a periodic basis… respect of the translations and rubrics of the Missal and breviary… something more than “Gather Us In” and “Pan de Vida”. One had to go with hat-in-hand and a lot of guts to ask to experiment with anything that looked traditional. You got a talking to if you knelt where there were clearly no kneelers.
These guys coming out of the same local seminaries today just don’t have that experience, and I think that they are better for it.
My ego isn’t bruised by recognizing myself an ‘obsolete dinosaur’. I’m not jealous of my younger confreres, either. Being able to step out into the sanctuary and up to the altar to celebrate the EF… all the while being, I think, a good pastor of an OF parish, too… is a great consolation and vindication to those years of struggle, frustration, and a little bit of lonliness. My hope is that generations to come will look at our time in history and be amazed by the rise of the internet and its ability to bring together and give voice to so many like-minded folks in the name of restoring the Western Liturgy. In so many miraculous ways, this phenomenon must be a manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit.
Summorum Pontificum is a gift that keeps on giving every day I exercise the privileges of the priestly office, whether in the OF or the EF. I would just urge my slightly-older priest brothers who suffered patiently during the 1990’s and early 2000’s to find a good mentor and learn how to celebrate the EF, if they haven’t already. Learn its dance, its rhythms, its language. Do what you can to inspire the faithful out there who are working to provide a safe haven for this restored liturgy within the Church… they are a small, but mighty force out there who need encouragement and gentle direction. Accept the small, almost insignificant, opportunities for participating in something great by laying brick after brick after brick in the great undertaking of restoring the Western Liturgy. There’s a long way to go, but in another 10 or 20 years my hope is that we will be able to look at the motu proprio as one of the defining events in our period of Church history. I don’t want to hazard a guess as to what the future may hold… I figured I’d be lucky if I ever got the opportunity to learn the “old Mass”, much less celebrate it publicly… and that all happened before we got out of the decade I was trained at seminary and ordained. Another 10-20 years is a long time for a lot more to happen.
And, Fr. Z., I give thanks to you for providing this blog as a virtual water cooler for all of us to gather around, trade stories, discuss the news, and gain hope and inspiration for all these years. That’s the good news I have to share, along with my thanks.
We are expecting baby number four! Due February 11. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us!
After years of harassment on the job (I’m disabled and single mother of two girls), I found a new job in Atlanta that pays significantly more. Thank you God! Wish me luck Fr. Z – I start on Monday.