St. Margaret of Scotland

Lent starts today!  It's purple season!  It's time for penance!  I started this penitential season off by getting up at 5 am to attend 6:30 am Mass at St. Margaret of Scotland.  Honestly, I think it will be more of a penance for others to deal with my cranky butt...  I digress

There was no music.  Father used Eucharistic Prayer 1 (I think...well maybe not...I don't remember the rattling off of saints...It started off with We Come to You Father...oh I bet it was one of the Reconciliation ones...)

Father's homily was an analogy between Lent and Spring Training. We are doing the same thing as the Cardinals.  We are in spring training.  Our goal is to be champions in heaven.  We have to work out.  We have our drills to to.  Jesus set the training agenda in the Gospel.  Fast, Pray, Alms Giving.  The sacrifice may be difficult but we are getting somewhere.  Just like the players put on black, we put on black.  We put on black to get ready for training and to remind us of our mortality.  If it pleases God (or we please God) we will be champions in heaven.  (Do I get a trophy?)

Pictures:

Links:
Earlier Visit
Website of St. Margaret of Scotland
Pictures from Rome of the West

St. James - Potosi

Hello!  This morning I headed the 10 am Mass at St. James in Potosi.

The Church was filled to capacity, which apparently is around 230 people.  There were baptisms after Mass.  I felt like it was Advent again as half the people knew the responses while others said the old translation.  Interestingly, the church didn't have the paper missalettes.  Instead, they had St. Joseph Sunday Missals.  They looked really new, which is a shame because they were the old translation.  (I can envision Sister M.A. from my grade school making the 7th and 8th graders fix every single missal...).

The music was accompanied by an organ in the choir loft.
Music:
Opening:  From All That Dwells Below the Skies
Offertory:  All That We Have
Communion:  Peace Prayer, Song of the Body of Christ
Closing:  Be Not Afraid

Mass started 5 minutes late.  It became clear why.  Father processed in with 2 pitchers of water, which he placed on the altar.

Where are we going with this?

During the Kyrie, Father poured the water in the font while giving a commentary.  Baptism is about grace.  There is no magic or mystery involved.  (Uhm.  Isn't grace rather mysterious?)

CHEF!

PARTY TIME!

Red Solo Cup....

I'm the Godmother to two girls, have been to the baptism of two other kids, has seen Baptisms during Mass.  I don't recall the Liturgy of the Pouring Water.  

Father sung the Opening Prayer but added the week of the liturgical season and the date.  

Anytime there was an opportunity, Father added commentary.  There was commentary before the readings discussing what they were about. Another before the Gospel.  Every petition had lots of extra commentary.  I know lots about the people in the parish now.  Apparently Father hasn't heard of HIPPA.  The Nicene Creed had commentary.  Father explained the final stanza about the Church.  The Nicene Creed connects us all.  He commented on the liturgical season.  It was rather annoying after awhile. Made me wish for St. Francis de Sales honestly...if only women there didn't wear skirts... Or another Rite.  

Homily:
In the readings we have traveled.  But this is where our Faith is.  Isaiah said to let go of all the barbed wire and everything that is a painful memory.  Let go.  How old were you when you realized that holding onto grudges and painful memories was like pouring water into sand.  We each have the ability to let go.  As long as you hold on, you are like a slave pulling a stone.  You won't forgive or forget, but you can let it go.  (uhm...isn't that part of letting go...forgiving and forgetting?)  In the second reading, it mentions the anointing of the Holy Spirit is on Installment (I hope God got good terms...)  God has not depleted His Mercy or His Grace.  In the Gospel, our Lord was more impressed with those that think outside the box.  Father then talked about how the synagogue from the Gospel is known and really close to St. Peter's house.  It's now a Church..the Church of St. Peter.  On Wednesday, 30 Eucharistic Ministers gathered for a retreat/training.  People who had never looked at each other in the light of Faith.  They are now living out an installment on their Catholic faith.  That is the beauty of the Catholic Faith, being called to say yes even though we are not perfect.  (I did not know being an EMHC was a vocation...)  Father then mentioned Cardinal Dolan, who was receiving his red hat in Rome this weekend.  Father knows Cardinal Dolan's family (name dropper).  Cardinal Dolan can walk into Rome with all of his warts and blemishes.  What was Cardinal Dolan thinking during the ceremonies.  He was probably thinking back to his boyhood.  (Someone's got a case of hero worship...).  Father mentioned he wouldn't fit in if he went to Rome (don't touch it...let it go...)  This weekend, 22 men received the Pallium.  (Oh Father...Oh no.  no no no.)  Father said he stood at Calvary every time he said Mass.  Every Mass is over the catacombs because of the altar stone.  This unites us in Faith.  He doesn't need to go to Rome.  230 people is as holy as the celebration at St. Peter's in Rome.  You are none the less worthy to celebrate.  I long for the day that those who have broken away return.  Where does the Pallium come from?  It comes from a Trappist monastery.  The sheep are brought to the Vatican on St. Agnes and are blessed.  Google it.  Father then asked us about the red hats hanging in the Cathedral.  They belong to the dead Cardinals.  They never actually wear that hat. (Uh...yes.  They did.  Ages ago.  like pre V2.)  The hats, the cappallo (?) hang over their crypts.  Go take a tour of the Cathedral and they will tell you all about it.  They are too tight to turn on the lights though. (oh dear) When they turn on all the lights  the meter spins like a spaceship.  They only turn on all the lights for Christmas, Easter and the Consecration of Bishops.  They don't even turn them all on for Ordinations.

Father sang the Preface.  He announced he was using Eucharistic Prayer I because you can't use it during Lent (*facepalm*).  There were bells.  At the Our Father there was hand holding.  Father's commentary was that pray unites us.  Standing has always been the posture of prayer in the Catholic Church, especially the East. Father then said the secret prayers before Communion out loud.  After Communion, Father then commented on the song, Song of the Body of Christ.  The Church's treasure is her children.  People are moaning about what the Church is going through now.  Read your history.  The Church was been through much worse in her 2000 years.


Pictures:

View From the Back Pew

St. James

 Sacred Heart of Jesus

Christ Crucified

Sacred Heart of Jesus

St. Theresa

I'm not sure.  I should know this shouldn't I?

Station VIII

Our Lady of Perpetual Help

FYI:  Lent starts Wednesday.  I haven't decided what to do for it.  It has been suggested that I pick a parish for Lent...

Links:
Website of St. James
Picture from Rome of the West

Who Am I?

I found this statue in a Church in Illinois.  Who is it?  What is it?

Our Lady of Lourdes - Washington

Good Evening!  This morning I attended the 10 am Mass in Our Lady of Lourdes in Washington, MO. Yesterday was the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, so I thought it would be appropriate.

The Church is relatively new and is in a fan shape.

The music was accompanied by a piano, band and choir and they sat in the front on the left.
The music:
PreMass:  All That We Have
Opening:  For Your Glory Reigns
Mass Setting:  Mass of Christ the Savior
Offertory:  Seed, Scattered and Sown
Communion:  Only This I Want, Shout to the Lord
Closing:  Alleluia! Raise the Gospel

There was a Children's Liturgy with music and a blessing.

The Homily:
We hear about leprosy.  It is a very isolated lifestyle.  Jesus breaks those barriers.  How can we apply this in our lives?  There was a U.S. missionary in East Africa.  One day a little boy asked her if Jesus was black or white.  She didn't know what to say.  Jesus lived in a warm climate.  Jesus was in between, he was brown.  The little boy announced that Jesus belongs to both of us.  Jesus bridges gaps of all kinds.  He is a bridge between God and humanity.  Leprosy was a total separation from life.  People thought leprosy came from sin.  You'd get it by touching.  Imagine how difficult that life was.  They were known as the "living dead" (ZOMBIES!!!! in the Bible...cooool)  Jesus has this deep love and concern for us.  No matter if we have sickness or sin, Jesus is willing to touch us (with latex gloves...oops sorry).  He's willing to take on that disease for himself.  He takes on our sin and our burden.  We don't have that primitive understanding of disease they had in the Bible.  We stand in the way of God's healing touch (insert totally inappropriate remark about bad touch here) We have some kind of leprosy of sin.  Look at those places.  That is where God wants to touch us.  Bring us healing acceptance.  We have an opportunity in the Eucharist (I thought it was Confession...)  We can ask for that healing touch.  We need to be infected by that healing, love and acceptance that only Jesus can give (pass the antibiotics)  Then we can infect others (hand sanitizer?)  Ask ourselves:  How do we need to Jesus to infect us?  How do we bridge the gap between us and someone else?

At the end of the petition, we prayed a Stewardship Prayer.  Father used Eucharistic Prayer II and there were bells.  There was a speaker to pitch Christ Renews His Parish for the women's retreat.  The big plus:  No cooking or cleaning.  The men's retreat needs someone to cook them some food however (oh the irony).  Father then mentioned that there was a letter from the Archbishop in the bulletin.  He then mentioned that there had been a compromise, but that it actually wasn't that much of one.

Pictures:

View From the Back Pew!

Over the Entrance Door

Over the Central Entrance Door

The Back Wall above the doors

Station VIII

St. Bernadette

Annunciation

The Nativity

Presentation?

Wedding at Cana

Jesus Preaching?

Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes?

The Last Supper

The Resurrection

Pentecost

Assumption

Links:
Website of OLL

Explain

So...I'm getting ready for bed and I hear on KSDK about a letter from the Archbishop that was read in all the parishes this weekend about the HHS mandate.  What letter?  According to KSDK, I'm supposed to be fasting and praying for my religious liberties per the Archbishop's instructions.  There was no letter or mention of it in the parish I went to today.  Why am I finding out the wishes of the Archbishop from the secular media?

Oh and KSDK...it bears repeating...the Catholic Church is not a democracy.  And just because everyone is breaking the rules, it doesn't make it right.

Oh and Planned Parenthood?  I thought your mission was to provide affordable access to women's health services.  Guess if my private insurance covers women's health services, I don't need you any more.  Way to go in accomplishing your mission!  I wish you luck in finding a new mission!

Link

St. Bridget of Kildare - Pacific

Good Evening! This morning I attended the 10 am Mass at St. Bridget in Pacific.  It's a medium, modern church built in 1961.  It is very plain and very dark inside.

There were no pew cards with the new translation and my pew didn't have a missalette.

Although the church has a choir loft, the piano and singers were located in the front on the left.  The music:
Opening:  Anthem
Offertory:  One Bread, One Body
Communion:  You Are Mine
Closing:  City of God

Father must have had something to do after Mass.  The Gospel was read so fast I couldn't tell you which one it was.  Mass was on track to be 40 minutes.  It would have been had there not been 2 speakers and the liturgy of the announcements.  That took ~6 minutes.  All the mass parts (Gloria, Sanctus, etc) were sung, Father just spoke so fast.  The Eucharistic Prayer was III and there were no bells.

As you can see from the picture below, St. Bridget has 3 aisles.  During the homily, Father power-walked down the left aisle and up, down the center aisle and up, down the right aisle and up all through out the homily.  I was totally rattled by it.  Father said we should give ourselves up for Christ.  At Peter's house..some stuff happened, I couldn't understand what Father was saying, but then Father said something about a women who had just died and the men expecting her as newly risen to serve them and everyone laughed but me who was offended...  We are at Mass to recharge our batteries.  We are a people of hope.  Carry on get on with depression.  Use hope to show other people what we believe.  Bring others over to him.  Feed Him.  The last words of the homily were the Body and Blood of Christ.

Today is also World Day for Consecrated Life.  A Sister of St. Joseph, who happened to be an alumni of the school, came and gave a little talk about vocations.  At least she said she was a religious sister.  It's not like she wore any outward sign of her vocation.  She had 3 pieces of advice:

1. Ask God what you want to be and how you want to be.
2. Be Curious
3. Never say never

She then related a story about her father.  When she told her father she was a going to be a sister, her father said "What a waste of a find good woman."  Everyone, but the stick in the mud in the back pew, laughed.  I thought it was slightly offensive and creepy.  And apparently nuns bring holy cards and she brought some.

I have to say, a former classmate of mine grew up in this parish.  He is now a rabid passionate atheist.    


Pictures:

St. Bridget of Kildare

View From the Back Pew!

Saint Alcove #1

Saint Alcove #2

Station VIII

Window in the Sanctuary

Links:
Information from the Archdiocese
Pictures from the Rome of the West

Holy Family - Port Hudson

YAY!  I finally made it out to Holy Family.  It's so far away that if I overslept, I couldn't make it.  There are lots of curvy county roads so if the weather is dicey I didn't want to chance it.  It all came together today!

I think Holy Family might be the smallest church in the Archdiocese.  It's tiny.  And it was full.  So full that people were sitting in the choir loft.

The music was accompanied by a guitar (in the loft).
Music:
Opening:  Gather Us In
Mass Setting:  Mass of Christ the Savior
Offertory:  Christ Be Our Light
Communion:  Blest Are They
Closing:  We are the Light of the World

Father wore his stole on the outside.  He used Eucharistic Prayer II and there were bells.

Homily:
In my 31 years as a priest, I have had lots of questions about religious things.  In the first reading, there are mediators, God speaks through people.  Originally God spoke to the people but the people were terrified of this.  The people asked for holy men, like Moses.  Bible then goes on to talk about holy men in the rest of the books of the Old Testament.  The real revelation is Jesus.  He's the big spokesperson.  He's got authority.  The people recognized him speaking the Truth because He knows what the Father wants.  Jesus claimed victory over evil and over death.  This is the One we look to.  Bishops, priests, theologians, teachers, parents all can be holy people for others.  Holy people don't speak their own will but God's Will.  They need to accurately interpret what God wants.  We are part of the Mystical Body of Christ; we are called to do this.  For example, not to bash the Muslims, but understand the historical reality.  They believe that the Koran is the real word of God.  They worship the same God.  It must come from Jesus.  Paul thinks we should be celibate, but he makes it clear that those are his thoughts and not God's.  What about private revelations?  The Church is ok with them but that you must ask yourself if this comes from Jesus (and not your delusions...or ]:>  )  Ask if these revelations bring you to God.  Focus on finding out what is His Will and do we have the courage to do His Will.

Pictures:

Guardian Angel

Jesus and children

Jesus has flip flops!

The drive leading up to the Church had statues along the side of it.

Holy Family - Port Hudson

View from the Back pew

Ceiling

Station VIII

Links:
Information from the Archdiocese
Pictures from Rome of the West  (ooo the Church has been renovated since he went!)