Category Archives: Catholic Life

Cricket And Corpus Christi

23 Sunday Jun 2019

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It’s 12:20 in the place for which we are named, Richmond-on- the-Thames. Richmond is named this place because a view of the James River reminded William Byrd II of the town in England. One day I shall show you the views so you can compare and judge yourself.

My telly is tuned into the Pakistan vs. South Africa match at the ICC World Cup. The venue is the Lord’s Cricket Ground, a venerable site, judging by some of the Victorian architecture. This match is grinding on. I feel as if Pakistan’s inning is about releasing pent-up frustration over a less than stellar outing so far.

This venerable game has continued, relatively unchanged since the Eighteenth Century, shortly after William Byrd compared my town to the other Richmond. We Virginians are conscious, perhaps obsessed with traditions and we have the statues to prove it.

This Sunday is about another tradition that won’t mean much, unless you are Catholic. Even if you are Catholic, it might not mean much, given the state of the Church today. It is the Sunday to which the Solemnity of Corpus Christi has been transferred. In many parishes, after the 1100 AM Mass, there will be a Eucharistic Procession. The priest will carry the consecrated Host in the monstrance. The worshippers will follow. Adore Te Devote by St Thomas Aquinas will be chanted. That this chant and these processions have continued for nearly eight hundred years inspire awe within me. It is about the True Presence of Christ’s Body in the sanctified bread. Metaphysically present. It isn’t just symbolism. Call us crazy. That’s OK. It isn’t about what outside observers think of Catholics.

In this era where many in the clergy have betrayed and dishonored their vows, The Lord is still with us. What comes after decadence and betrayal is purging and catharsis. While some have abandoned Him, He has not abandoned us.

Continuity.

Whitsunday

09 Sunday Jun 2019

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It is Whitsunday, the Solemnity of the Holy Spirit. The chant Veni Creator Spititus is chanted on this Sunday, if you are fortunate enough to attend a parish that still does chant. I was not Catholic at the time of Vatican II. The Latin Mass was the rule. Now the novus ordo Mass rules the day. One can attend Mass and not hear a word of Latin.

There is an AA meeting in town where the ongoing topic is “How is God working in my life.” As a Christian and Catholic, it is easy to understand this topic to be about the working of The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of The Most Holy Trinity. It is depicted as the dove descending.

As I write, I am watching India vs Australia in the World Cup competition from London. The British Empire lives on, in spirit, at the very least. Both sides have extraordinarily talented cricketers. The tranquility we see on this sunny day is in contrast to the turmoil Britain faced seventy five years ago.

And so this game, as trivial as it is, is testimony to the human yearnings for freedom and of peace, desires that the vanquished of that time held in disdain.

The Holy Spirit at work?

Good Friday

19 Friday Apr 2019

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There is no way I could have made it through the Good Friday Liturgy with my shoulder in the shape it is in. If I doubted that, the drive over to my niece’s house to deliver the Easter Cuteness Bunny,(see prior post) confirmed it. I’m a temporary wreck.

So I’m home, drinking coffee, watching racially and sexually insensitive cartoons from the Thirties that are still entertaining, in spite of the fact that our grandparents weren’t as enlightened as were are.

Impermanent

16 Tuesday Apr 2019

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I always thought that one day I would go to Paris, see the Eiffel Tower, visit The Louvre, the Arc de Triumphe, and Notre Dame du Paris. And now… Who caused it to happen, how and why this happened won’t be answered for a long time. Suddenly, the Yellow Vest Movement fades away, Macron must face a profound catastrophe. This Cathedral is at the very heart of France. Chartres seems vulnerable, Rheims, Mont St Michel, also.

It is a thrust at the Spirit of France. The Catholic Faith that defined France since before Charlemagne is being tested as never before.

Pray for the restoration of The Faith, St Joan of Arc, pray for us. St Thérèse of Lisieux, pray for us.

Rain

12 Friday Apr 2019

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The rain finally came and washed the pollen off the car, and out of the air.

I feel better now.

I picked up a little book I bought years ago written by St Francis de Sales. I read a couple of excerpts. He evangelized in the Protestant city of Geneva, Calvin’s hometown, and brought thousands back to The Faith. His message was simple, gentle, and unapologetic about Catholicism.

Like this rain, his life and work and words were about cleansing, gently, in a world that needed it.

A Hotel In Savannah

03 Wednesday Apr 2019

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We drove from Lumberton, North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia, stopping for gas, a shopping trip to the Sabatier Knife Outlet (I am a fan of Sabatier K Thiers knives) in Yemassee, South Carolina and the Georgia Welcome Center, where Forrest Gump sits on his

park bench. What else can I say?

We decided to stay in downtown Savannah at the DeSoto Hotel, influenced, in part, by the fact that my grandfather, whom we called Pop, drove a DeSoto automobile.

It’s a nice hotel, except that the shower curtain is inadequate to block the water from running out the bottom of their really nice walk in shower, with two shower heads. There were no instructions on how to turn off the smaller handheld head. It was a mess waiting to happen.

The room has a kingsize bed, very comfortable. There are also the usual mechanical noises, compressor motors run incessantly.

After we checked in, we walked around a bit, but it was cold and windy. We thiught we could find a nice restaurant. I suppose there are nice ones besides the 1540 Restaurant inside the hotel, but the chilly weather discouraged us. We did eat at 1540. We had two entrées at the low end of their price points. J had a nice chicken pot pie, I had the braised oxtails on dirty rice. Both were excellent. I had never had oxtails before. I couldn’t see much difference between them and a chuck pot roast, but what do I know?

Our trip continues. We got a voicemail from Father Tony, our parish priest, checking up on us. We were touched by his concern. He is a real pastor, so despite the fact he doesn’t celebrate the Mass ad orientam, I am glad we stayed at St Benedict after Father Kauffmann was transferred.

We are enjoying each other’s company. We both found the Lion’s Den Adult Superstore kind of creepy. I saw it as more laughable than offensive. J found it offensive, although the sign said the store was for men, women, and couples. Yuck. It seems that the billboard signage on I-95 has a large Jesus Saves sign near the billboards for The Lion’s Den and its competitor Fantasy Land, as if to dissuade us from visuting these dens of iniquity. And dildoes.

Noteworthy for its staggering banality is South Of The Border, a motel complex on I-95, just south of the North Carolina / South Carolina line. The enticement of its Reptile Lagoon was not enough to lure J into checking it out.

So like Simon and Garfunkel, a half century earlier, We’ve All Gone To Look For America.

“Remember That Thou Art Dust…”

06 Wednesday Mar 2019

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How can I ever forget?

I was tempted to leave the post at that lone rhetorical question. Quite frankly, Ash Wednesday strikes me as a lot of self-serving theatre. It stands in contrast to Our Lord’s admonition on fasting to not make a great show about it as the Pharisees do. (St Matthew 6:16). And yet, I know we need reminders to maintain our journeys of spiritual growth. That journey is toward spending eternity with God.

Modern materialist culture gives us so much. At it’s most basic, famine is a very remote possibility for almost all of us. The now maligned childhood vaccinations have made deadly or crippling diseases a remote possibility. I remember poliomyelitis as a very real threat. I remember my Salk polio vaccination. and the later Sabin oral vaccination. Nobody complained. The iron lung wasn’t a joke, as it was in The Big Lebowski .

So we can easily conclude that thinking about eternity is hardly anybody’s first priority. Contemplating one’s sins is painful. It is supposed to be. Aspiring to eternal communion with God isn’t painful, but it doesn’t come to us easily. Maybe that is why there is Lent.

Sunday.

18 Monday Feb 2019

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I woke up around Two AM, was awake for a couple of hours, doing all the usual time-wasting activities I normally do, read blog posts, watch YouTube videos, all with the intention of getting tired again.

I went back to bed, slept til around 8:30, then got ready for Mass. I went alone; my wife was still sleeping. Mass was OK. I must admit I wasn’t really focusing. I was dealing with some physical pain, probably arthritis. The homily dealt with the priestly sexual abuse crisis. I think our Diocesan Bishop Barry Knestout, is earnestly trying to deal with the mess. On the positive side we chanted the Marian Anthem Ave Regina Coelorum, as the Recessional, in Latin, of course. That was the highlight, apart from receiving the Precious Body of Our Lord in the species of bread. When the mess in the Church is hot, heavy, and thick, we have to remember He is with us.

I came back. J and I went to brunch. An otherwise very good restaurant got my omelette order wrong, meaning the cooks just sort of did their own thing. Wasn’t bad. Just not what I ordered, They didn’t charge me. No biggie. I went swimming, did 3300 meters. That is over 2 miles.

Upon my return, I went into full work mode, heating leftovers, doing two, soon three loads of laundry.

I’m feeling tired, but have more work to do. There is more I want to add to the story Journey that I began on Friday.

Tomorrow I want to fix a vegan chili with. black beans and quinoa. I haven’t done much vegan stuff, as in none, but I understand that quinoa has a great amino acid profile and complements well with legumes.

Life is busy, all of a sudden, but good, as it is nearly all the time,

Later, Loves. 💘

Christmas Eve.

25 Tuesday Dec 2018

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Yesterday, 24 December, seemed particularly busy. I did more than I usually do. I went to Confession. I am a great believer in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, (Penance), because it is a chance to let God know that you know that you broke His rules. As a result, things aren’t going all that well. God values honesty and humility. He forgives our selfishness.

Then after getting squared away with The Good Lord, I went shopping at BJ’s to take advantage of some coupon savings, but I still spent a big chunk of money. I’m hoping that Finlandia Butter is worth the extra money, as well as the Irish cheese.

Having taken all the largesse home, and stowed away the frozen foods and other perishables, I went swimming, 2050 meters, in 50 minutes 7 sec. As the report cards used to say “Shows Improvement“. I am grateful for that.

J nd I had dinner at Maggiano’s Little Italy. The highlight was watching an eight year old boy in front of us at another table eat, or attempt to eat a bowl of spaghetti and a meatball the size of a baseball. Hilarious. His mother was at the table with him. I assume the youngish female human adult was his mother. But judging from his manners, the little boy may actually be raised by wolves.

When I got back home, I did some laundry, took a nap,and relaxed in general. The highlight was soaking and scrubbing my feet, clipping the nails, and applying some foot cream. They still feel great from that TLC.

Our only agenda item is the 10:00 AM Mass. No family get togethers till Saturday. Maybe my younger son will be by. But it is good to have time with just my wife at Christmas.