I think we are all in need of some GOOD news.
For my part, today, I GOT A HAIR CUT. Sorely needed.
I trust that you have even better news than that. My hope is that, during this challenging time and in many cases hardships, there have been new and good discoveries or changes in your spiritual lives and perhaps even your relationships.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Fr Z I agree with MaternalView above. The world situation is shaky and a trip to Poland… next to Ukraine…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “I‘ll assume black goes „upward“ and down left is h8. 1. f5+ forcing gf6 (xf5 e. p.) 2. h5+ forcing…”
on Faith practice declining far and wide…. except…: “Lori announced massive parish closings, along with the suppression of the Latin Mass in diocese. Sure suicide by cutting off…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “I think people have lost confidence in all manner of things, airplane manufacturers, airlines, FAA, government agencies who are supposed…”
on Wednesday after the 2nd Sunday after Easter – traditional Solemnity of ST. JOSEPH! – Terror of demons, Protector of Holy Church!: “Aw, dear St. Joseph. I love him so much. I was blessed to go to a mass of this feast…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “1. . . . . .. . . . . . . h7-h5+ 2. g5-h6(×h5) . f7-f5+ 3. K-g5 .…”
on Faith practice declining far and wide…. except…: “Dear Masked Chicken, thank you for pointing me to your post of 22 March, which which I largely agree. My…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Yes. Let all the poisons come out! After seeing it on TV many years ago and reading the two volumes,…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Perhaps world events are making some nervous international travelers. Personally, I would have loved to go to Poland on a…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “The bit about Claudius thinking that a return to the republic was likely or even possible may take its inspiration…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “Pray for Derek Jacobi! Such a talented actor, but sadly, an irregular life.”
on 15 April 2019 – Notre-Dame de Paris: “I was wrong. It’s not a Cramnerian table. It’s a……. Ikea coffee table made to resemble a half Easter egg,…”
on ROME 24/4– Day 28: bad news and good news: “The BBC “radio play” of I,Claudius is also rather good. https://share.libbyapp.com/title/505092”
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A Daily Prayer for Priests
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since Sat., 25 Nov. 2006:
I attended the Holy Eucharistic Mass this morning, in the church where I was baptised in 2005 (not our own Parish church which is in France and so remains in lockdown), and my Joy from this Holy Communion with our Lord and with His Church is very extensive indeed.
Our congregation was rather small, though not tiny as such, illustrating sadly how little most people think of their religious obligations, as that was the first public Mass in the Parish since the Easter lockdown (and so technically, for many, an Easter Mass of Obligation).
The priest spoke courageously of the need for Christian evangelisation to confront death and hatred and violence from those who despise and hate the Lord, and that there is no point to being a Christian unless we speak Truth from Courage.
He preached to the hope that all of those with Faith might act to the evangelisation of peoples, ALL of the peoples, rather than remain in the self-satisfied contentment of the lukewarm.
Christ is Risen !!
Walking the puggle on the beach two Saturdays ago and she urinated blood. She had surgery last Tuesday for bladder stone. The largest was the size of a shooter marble or a d20. She’s fully recovered – mooching and barking and sleeping on the couch like nothing ever happened.
With more free time around Easter, as granted by God, my family of school children have
– moved from one decade of the Rosary to five decades
– prayed Fr Z’s Plague Prayer
– prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet for the first time
– prayed the Praying the Traditional Mass At Home as provided by Prof. K
– practiced Conversational Prayer per a book from Catholic Truth Society
All good things.
I envy you your haircut. Not yet permitted in Illinois (except for the Mayor of Chicago). I am starting to look like a refugee from the ’60s – or for the older readers “I am starting to look like a member of the House of David.”
The government stimulus check allowed us to pay the first half of our property tax, which would have been impossible otherwise. Good news.
Our entire family went to a local park yesterday and played croquet in the sunshine. Nobody quarrelled with anyone else, and we ate fried chicken too. Excellent news.
My husband and I are still employed.
Last Sunday our family was blessed to be able to receive Confession and Holy Communion in our home from an SSPX priest. We live in Australia where churches are still closed and unfortunately no one but the SSPX is doing anything like this. The people of the chapel we attend are very spread out geographically so visiting the families is no small task.
Living in Australia is also great news, because we have fewer than 100 deaths, lots of testing, and compliance with measures to stem the spread of the virus. Many of our states have had zero new cases for weeks. Thanks be to God!
One of my best friends just asked me to be one of his groomsmen. He and his soon-to-be wife are both just 22, but are committed to doing it right!
I’m still employed, which I’m truly grateful for. I’m going to be a godmother for the 3rd time at the end of this. I’m praying baby and mother will have a safe delivery. And I have a subscription to Brit Box. It’s nonessential but I appreciate British humor.
I have been able to attend Mass and receive communion the last 3 Sundays, I am able to work from home without losing any pay, my siblings and I have communicated more since this began then ever before, I have yet to run out of toilet paper or food, and I am getting my nails and toes done tomorrow!
Due to a low number of Coronavirus cases in Idaho, our Churches have re-opened for Mass, as of May 1st; I will be welcoming two new grand babies into our family this year, bringing the total to 20 among my three Traditional Catholic children (That alone is good news these days!); none of my family are out of work, we have sunshine, parks to roam, plenty of fresh food, and three holy TLM priests available to attend to our spiritual needs. God is good and I am blessed.
I am alive. Presently healthy. Prayed Rosary this afternoon. Made masks. Watched my daughter do the Tik Tok jelly fruit with pickle juice and milk. Good day!
In my diocese the public celebration of the Holy Mass restarts this week, and the bishop requested to increase the number of Masses in parishes to be able to respect social distance.
Ah, yes, I actually attended Holy Mass yesterday in the evening, and we even had singing (mask on) and could have received Holy Communion (mask off).
(I didn’t, yet, though, because the archbishop forbids Communion-in-the-mouth and our casually-legalized friends who offered the Mass – they were first – obviously did give it as Communion-in-the-mouth. I generally have no hesitation to receive Communion at SSPX Masses but have to make up my mind whether I personally would not be sinning by acting against the command, how little ever antiinfectious sense it makes. Seeing that Communion-in-the-hand, which I normally treat as second best, is in this case also probably Communion-from-a-plastic-oneway-glove, this may yet become a hard choice. But that’s not the point; the point is I could attend Mass and did.)
I’m still working. I took a walk. No Mass yet, but I can go to confession and Holy Hour. We may be opening in 2 weeks and I hope that Mass will commence then, please God.
Currently at my son’s apartment where nearby one of the priests is offering drive in confession which both my wife and I partook. It was wonderful for both of us to be relieved of sons that had been on our minds for some time.
We got confession back! Hurray!
Mass is coming soon…Again, HURRAY!
….but both by appointment which are yet more bad precedents to set.
What I really want to know is HOW you got a haircut?
Many bits of Good News:
– my wife and I both still have jobs and paychecks
– our extended families seem to be in good health
– cousin just arrived home from overseas deployment
– long-needed repairs at our condo (roof and fences) are underway
– reduced out-of-house activities have meant we have actually whittled away at the “inside” to-do list
– our mothers are in their own homes, healthy, and staying out of circulation (thanks to family and neighbors doing the shopping)
– consolation (of a sort) that this didn’t come up any time in recent years when our mothers or late fathers were in hospital or rehab or long-term care – I would have been a nervous wreck
My good news is that my quarantine time has been phenomenally good. Among other things, I’ve realized that, for the first time in my life, I’m happy–deeply happy, unworried, and not anxious about anything. I’ve been those all my life (pretty terrible childhood), and after two very intense years of therapy, I’ve worked through a lot of things. I’m happy as a clam right now.
But the other thing is that I got a huge change of plans from God–as in, I was getting ready to go back to school for a master’s in one thing, and He changed that. He presented something else entirely to me, made it clear that He wants me to pursue that instead, and asked for a whole lot of surrender, but gave me the grace to do that. So now I’m going back to school for this other thing, something I’d never in a million years have considered for myself, but that, now He’s presented it to me, just makes sense. It’ll use all my talents and skills, just in a way I’d never imagined, and I can see myself being happy doing it. Like with being happy for the first time ever, I’m truly at peace for the first time ever. And that’s priceless!! I’m sure this level of happiness won’t last, but as long as it does, I’m sure going to eat it up and enjoy every minute of it.
Edit: I meant to say that I’ve been unhappy, worried, and anxious my whole life.
On the first day of the shut down our parish’s oversized and beautiful Pilgrim Fatima Statue arrived at our home. (We signed up for her visit back in December.) And thanks to the continued shutdown she stayed with us for a month leading up to Easter, rather than the usual two weeks. I think she extended her stay because we have six children, including FOUR hormonal, moody, eye rolling teenagers. (Yikes!) Her visit has brought tremendous graces including a nightly family rosary with little pushback from the teens, and general peace in our home. The teens are so b o r e d they’re even welcoming a four hour drive to visit the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help this weekend. Also, we all have been to confession a couple of times thanks to a lovely young priest in a nearby diocese that allows confessions as long as social distancing is respected. All good things!
Next week I will be moving for an engineering internship to a diocese that has resumed public Masses.
This ‘lockdown’ has allowed my co-coordinator of liturgy and myself at Good St. Anne’s Shrine in Fall River to produce and publish video novenas of petition (starting the novena of thanksgiving today to culminate on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima), produce a series we’re calling the ‘Virtual Pilgrimage to St. Anne’s’ of all the shrines in the lower church, start to build (without the press of visitors, since the doors are locked) a video and audio production facility in an unused ‘reconciliation room’ so we can do more, professionally, than we’ve been able to….we started a ‘light a candle’ campaign for the Shrine to keep the candles lit: we’re the largest votive candle site in southern New England and we keep the lights lit, and I’ve had the time in between online meetings for work (still gainfully employed) to rebuild and refocus the Shrine’s website (the initial one was a stake in the ground…now it’s time to step up the work).
Oh, and the maintenance work continues apace; while we’ve suffered a bit from the fact we had to close the doors and gift shop, we’re investing what we have collected since we opened last July 4 to repair and refurbish the inside physical plant, and starting to gather information and estimates for the ‘big projects’ that are on the radar: new slate roof (400-500K USD), interior repairs so that we can reopen the spectacular upstairs nave (unknown, a lot of plaster and paint), and exterior work.
God is good; and we’ve not let the current situation prevent us (socially distancing all the while) from preserving this landmark and moving forward as we are able.
I forgot to mention that I registered as a parishioner at the local oratory. However, I’m a little nervous because it’s a struggle to get up and down from kneeling due to MS and arthritis. Hopefully I won’t draw too much attention to myself–or fall trying to get back up. I also hope attending the extraordinary form will be fruitful.
We got two bunnies today. They are sweet and really cute but mostly I got them for their manure capabilities for my garden! I am excited. We finished a novena to St. Philomena today. I’m happy about that because trying to get all nine days in is sometimes tough. Our freezers and fridges are all still running. One freezer has seemed to be on it’s last leg for many years but it keep going and going. That’s really good because I began really stocking up on meat and some other things several weeks ago. I’m glad that I bought a lot of these things now that they are having shortages. It’s tough sometimes when they limit stuff and you have many mouths to feed. God is so good to us though. :)