MONDAY DIARY - FATHER SWAP

As you may know I am relatively new at being a pastor. I think it is a little bit like being married. You are the same person that you were before you were married but the world seems just a little bit different to you after. I was not really aware of this change too much until this past weekend.

From time to time priests are called upon to help out at other parishes and this past weekend I was asked to go to a parish in a neighboring city that was short of help. I had given my car to family visiting from Slovenia, the parish truck was in use, so I had to drive the ’46 Plymouth to St. Augustine in Barberton for the Sunday 5:15 Mass.

There is always a little bit of anxiety (at least for me) in saying Mass at a parish that is not your “home.” You would think with the way that Catholics structure the Mass that a Mass is a Mass is a Mass. But every place has their idiosyncrasies. For example, how do you get ready for communion? In flurry of activity before Mass it is attempted to be explained to you the briefest way possible. It is a like football playbook maneuver. “First, go the 2 people to your left and give them the Body of Christ. Then give them the Blood of Christ. Then give the Body of Christ to the people on your right. The people to whom you gave the chalices should cross over and offer the Blood of Christ for you If they don’t, you have to signal them. Then distribute the ciboria. The servers will be behind you, make sure that you get them. Then . . .”

People at Saint Sebastian know that once Mass starts it is all up in the air for me remembering things extra to the Mass. I have to put stick’m notes in the Sacramentary because once I get into the prayers of the Mass everything else seems to float away. Even if I see the stick’m note at the beginning of the prayer and think, “Don’t forget to excuse the children at the end of the this prayer,” by the time I get to the end I will have forgotten, sit down, and then receive an elbow from the deacon who stage whispers to me, “You forgot again!”

Anyway, I was delivering my homily at this parish with which I am very familiar and it struck me that, yes, we are one family as Catholics, yes, this is the Body of Christ, yes, I can pray with them and minister to them, but they are not my immediate parish family. It was an odd feeling. For example, my homily this weekend mentioned marriage a couple of times. There was a young man who I knew in my parish that was going to propose to the girl he was with after Mass and I could make that connection with him in my thoughts as I gave the homily. But at the parish I was visiting, which I enjoyed, I was defiantly not speaking with my community. The same type of connection was not there. I’m not sure that makes sense. I still enjoyed the experience and appreciated praying with a new group of people, but I think of those priests who have ministries that take them out of the parish and who help out here and there. There is always a strong sense of appreciation and welcome whenever a priest goes to a parish to which he is not regularly assigned, but how difficult it must be for them not to have that regular sense of family. And it is all the more strong once you become a pastor and you feel a personal responsibility for leading a certain group of people to God.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HAVING THIS CROSS IS A PLUS

The Greek Cross (as it appears on the Greek flag) also known as St. George’s cross is the basis for several other crosses. It does not so much represent the Passion of Christ as it does the Church. It is made of two lines of equal length dissected in the middle like a plus sign. (+)

It is used as a symbol on many nations’ flags. As with Greek flag, it denotes a connection with the Church, and as is the case with Greece, a very long association with the Church. The original floor plan of Saint Peter Basilica by Donato Bramante was to be an enormous Greek cross but it was changed to appear more like the common Latin cross.

OFF TODAY

Greetings!

I owe you one! I’m taking part of the day off to visit with family and don’t have enough time to do that, get things done around the parish AND do a post. See you tomorrow!

With apologies,

Fr. V

ARE YOU COOKING SAINTS IN YOUR KITCHEN?

There are exceptions to the rule of course but the primary place where the faith is handed on is not in Church or PSR/CCD or in the day school of your parish. The primary place where faith is passed on is the domestic church – in the home. It is modeled and nourished and directed at the parish, but it is passed on in the home. It is the same thing with math. If parents do not place some amount of importance on math and grades then there is nothing a teacher can do to force a kid to learn. If faith is not important in the place where they eat, sleep, and be family, it is rare that an outside influence will bring them to faith and God.

So how does your home stack up as a domestic church?

1. Could you be caught in prayer in your home?
2. Do those who live in your house ever pray together – even grace? Do the heads of the house offer blessings?
3. Are Christian/Catholic ideals in manner, speech, and action upheld, fostered and honored?
4. Is Mass and regular confession a priority in scheduling?
5. Do images, shows, stories, or any other manner of media invited into your living room through television, computers, and other electronic or print media noble or at least not scandalous?
6. Are the poor served in some fashion from your home? (For example donations to charitable organizations etc.)
7. Is the liturgical calendar celebrated in your home in anyway? (For example – does Christmas really seem Christ centered? Do you recognize your feast day?)
8. Is the faith ever discussed (even the weekend’s homily)?
9. Does your house show any sign of housing a people of faith? (For example – is there a crucifix well displayed and honored or do you have a holy water font?)
10. Has your house been blessed or given a patron?
11. Are there resources for learning or being inspired about the faith? Do you a book blessings and use it?
12. Is your home a place of love and joy?

Some of these in some places these are more easily achieved than others. What does one do in a home of mixed religion for example? This may not be a complete list but is a start. You will come up with more. There is an ideal atmosphere in which faith grows just like there are perfect conditions for plants to grow and we are called upon to do our best to achieve them.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CLXXXIV

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “Craps is fast and exciting; it is like flying. But falling is like flying too . . . for a while.” Dale Ahlquest

QUOTE II: “The most effective way to hide from God is respectability. Respectability is hiding place for evil.” Fr. Gene Fulton

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter reminds us that it is time for the FEST. Read more here.

Before you watch this 2:14 video, I want to say that I am in no way promoting or not promoting any political body - but, this fourth verse of the National Anthem is very interesting.

Belief Net has this Catholic quiz.

MONDAY DIARY: DOGGONE PROBLEMS

On Friday our facilities manager was going about the parish grounds making sure that everything was hunky-dory before he left on vacation – a week which was writing in my calendar as the “Week of Darkness.” Why? Because that is when everything goes wrong.

We were joking that Friday that nothing big ever – EVER – goes wrong on Monday at 10:00AM. It is always on Friday night at 11:00PM or Sunday morning. So we laughed about it and he left.

He just left.

And we were here like unprotected fledgling in the nest waiting for fate to rear its ugly head.

And it did.

During confessions on Monday morning the church felt a little warm. That was not so unusual. It was blistering hot outside. Perhaps the hottest Saturday of the year. Is it any wonder the AC was not quite keeping up in such a large space?

A couple of hours before Mass I headed over to the church to see how things were. To say the least they were hot. Not just warm. HOT. It was like Hades in the summer after years of global warming on Mars.

I wish I were kidding.

So I get on my cell phone and call our man who is on vacation. He calls back a little while longer. “I am SOOOOOO sorry to disturb you,” I say, “but the AC isn’t working and it is a gazillion degrees in church. If I go down into the basement can you talk me through what needs to be done to get it working again?” As I say this I am running back to the church basement with my cell phone cassock and all. I keep some small chit chat going until I make it there, unlock the door and turn on the lights.

“First, you have to find the control panel. As you walk into the door turn right . . .” I follow his directions and assume that I am at the right piece of equipment. “Now, look for the read button and push it.” I push the button. “After you push the button you will have to . . .”

Guess what. There is very poor reception in the basement. So now I have to leave my phone out in meeting room, talk to him, run into the boiler room and perform the next step or two and then run back out to report. Eventually the thing gets running. But to no avail. For one it is too late to really cool down the building as a few hundred people show up. And on top of that it starts kicking off again. I run upstairs to shake some hands and say some hellos, run down to try to start the beast up again all the time trying to look suave and having everything under control – which is against tenant one of the spiritual life – rarely is anything under your control.

That night, from his vacation, our facilities manager called a repair man to come in. So we were cool for the rest of the week. No more vacations.

Speaking of things out of your control – last night we took Sebastian for a walk. He took off after a skunk. I started screaming, “STOP! THAT’S A SKUNK!” as if in realizing the nature of the creature he wanted to chase up a tree he would think better of it and stop. He charged. The skunk calmly turned around and lifted its tail. Fr. Pf. and I braced for the inevitable. Within a couple of feet Sebastian just stopped. So did the world. He took a couple of steps back and then ran to us. He missed out on the fun.

Was it a particularly kind skunk?
Is Sebastian incredibly lucky?
Was God intervening?

I don’t know.

I do know that whatever it was I am VERY grateful that I do not have to go out and buy tomato juice today.

FRIDAY POTPURRI: STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!

The cross was not an instant hit as a Christian symbol. It took Christians time to overcome the “scandal of the Cross.” Further, as you might recall from history, it was not a good thing to too publically declare your faith in Jesus and His Church; it might make you into a happy meal for a hungry lion. Other symbols were thus used. One was the anchor – a symbol of hope.

In a world where persecution of Catholics was common, what would be the hope of believers? That the one condemned to arrest, or torture, or death would remain steadfast in the faith. An anchor keeps a ship steady in the ocean so that it does not drift into rocks or sand bars or becomes lost out at sea. The Christian anchor is a symbol of keeping us rooted in faith despite the storms of life that would place our soul at risk.

One of the legends about how this symbol came about comes from the story of Saint Clement. Emperor Trajan banished this pope who subsequently converted the people in the place to which he was sent. Enraged, the emperor had him tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea. The legend says that the sea receded three miles to reveal Saint Clement being buried by hosts of angels. Whether that last bit be actual or an embellishment that speaks of the life of this first century holy man, one can see how the anchor would symbolize well the hope that those who remain true to Christ and His Church will find reward after suffering in this world.

Later the Cross was more transparently added to the anchor. We thus remain steadfast (fortitude!) in the mystery of His Cross and Resurrection, grow in hope, and await the splendor that awaits loyal sons and daughters of the Father in the lift to come.

LOW COUNCILIAR SELF ESTEEM

One of the reasons for the reform of the Mass at Vatican II was to get rid of all of the various extra things that crept into the Mass over the centuries. Post Vatican II it seems that we could not wait to plaster a whole bunch of things back in to the Mass – many under the guise of being in the Spirit of Vatican II (an extremely slippery term that nobody can quite define but is used as a catch all for allowing just about anything.)

It may not seem like such a big deal but there are consequences. Extra services and blessings, processions, added songs, extra ministers and ministries in various forms and in differenting amounts are added to the Liturgy. Pope Benedict describes this in his book, “The Spirit of the Liturgy” in this way, “Unfortunately, (active participation) was very quickly misunderstood to mean something external, entailing a need for general activity, as if as many people as possible, as often as possible, should visibly engage in action. . . The almost theatrical entrance of different players into the liturgy, which is so common today, especially during the Preparation of the Gifts, quite simply misses the point.”

And what is the point? All these ministries are quite secondary to the primary action and the more we pull people away to perform secondary actions the less, obviously, are there doing the primary – or at least the less important the primary seems. I wonder if this does not extend from the idea that we come to Mass to watch, to be entertained, as one would do passively say at the theater. But in actuality we are each of us priests, prophets, and kings. The priesthood of the people may be different from the ordained priesthood but is none-the-less and essential ministry to be carried out by each baptized person, the five your old (in their own way) as well as the 95 year old.

Continuing with Pope Benedicts words, “The real Liturgical action, the true liturgical act is the oratio, the great prayer that forms the core of the Eucharistic celebration. . . we must pray for it to become our sacrifice, that we ourselves, as we have said, may be transformed into the Logos, conformed to the Logos, and so be made the true Body of Christ. . .in this prayerful approach to participation, there is no difference between priest and laity. . . Of course, external actions – reading, singing, the bringing up of gifts – can be distributed in a sensible way. By the same token, participation in the Liturgy of the Word (reading, singing) is to be distinguished from the sacramental celebration proper. We should be clearly aware that external actions are quite secondary here.”

So we come to at least some of the consequences of adding things to the Mass. The first would be the fostering of the idea that we come to Mass to witness something and that those who “have something to do” are in some way “participating more or in a more important way than I am.” That is simply false. A second would be that in the removal of innovations that were never called for or were in fact banned by everything except this mysterious “spirit of Vatican II” will appear to those who have bought into this idea as a return to pre-Vatican II era of when in fact, it is a return to Vatican II – and this can be a cause of unnecessary dissention between clergy and lay people.

I fear that if Vatican II were a person instead of council, she would be depressed. Always misunderstood and misquoted, always trying to say who she is and often being ignored. Like a rock star everyone wants to claim to know her without really spending any time with her getting to know her. “If people really knew me,” I imagine her thinking, “would they still like me?” Fortunately she is maturing now and able to assert herself more confidently.

WAS THIS IN THE RECRUITMENT BROCHURE?

Perhaps you hear it all the time: if you want more priests, pray for young men and seminarians. If you want better priests, pray for them in their vocation. I know I always feel gratitude (and a bit of relief) when someone says that they are praying for my vocation. I take that prayer very seriously and know how important it is and from time to time will pray for those who keep my priesthood in their prayers.

That being said I am going to ask you for some prayers for a specific kind of priest – or better yet, a priest with a specific kind of ministry. There are some jobs that are just hard, dirty

jobs. They are none-the-less necessary for the proper running of the Church. They are “darned if you do and darned if you don’t” jobs. Sometimes they are very public. In the paper today it was announced that the Youngstown Diocese (our neighbor) has just named a priest to head the consolidation of parishes. They will close or merge many parish communities the result of which will be 25 less parishes. As in Cleveland, everybody knew something had to be done but no two people agreed on what that something was. The one thing that for sure was that whatever it was done, it was going to make a significant amount of people angry. I do not envy this guy his job.

In every diocese there is a priest who is the go-to guy when something goes wrong. Perhaps a priest is having some kind of difficulty, got caught doing something, is discovered to have fallen into addiction – you name it – and this priest is sent out to try to straighten things out. He is usually not popular with the person he is sent out to see, and while that priest can say what he pleases about the encounter, the one sent out by the diocese is to be mute.

I am thankful for these priests – mostly thankful that they have their jobs and I have mine and may we never switch places – but I do offer you my prayers. It’s a difficult job but someone has to do it. And I am glad it is you. God bless you brothers.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CLXXXIII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: “He who baptizes does one of the few things that is everlasting.” Fr. Benedict Groeschel CFR

QUOTE II “There are three possible responses to God’s call to you; a) Yes. b) No. c) Evasion. And death will remove the third option.” Fr. Gene Fulton

IN OTHER NEWS:

Here's an interesting tidbit from the Dioceses of Cleveland Enewsletter: "The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a set of guidelines for using social media, especially as social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter continue to gain in popularity.
"'Social media are the fastest growing form of communication in the United States, especially among youth and young adults," the guidelines say. "Our church cannot ignore it, but at the same time we must engage social media in a manner that is safe, responsible and civil.'" Read more here.

In the mood to try your Catholic knowledge? Here is a quiz. It is hard! Do well!

This video is 3:11.

MONDAY DIARY: THE MOST INTIMATE THING

As a seminarian there was a priest that I looked up to quite a bit. Once I told him how lucky his parishioners were and how loved he must be. To that he responded, “Here is an important lesson for you. Everyone has their detractors. Jesus had his, I have mine, and you will have yours.” It is true. But then again I suppose it is true for everybody.

There is a person who made known their dislike of my pastorate. No big shocker, nobody gets through life unscathed for good or for bad. But then, celebrating a morning Mass I thought I spied the person – not only in attendance at Mass but who would be in my line for Communion.

This happened to me once before years ago. There was a person with whom I had a falling out. Then the next day she showed up for morning Mass at which I was the celebrant. Let me tell you what an experience that was. It is very hard to celebrate Mass and hold a grudge. The person came up for Communion and we had to interact in the most intimate way two Catholics can; having a short ritual while Christ’s presence was between us Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. “The Body of Christ.” “Amen.” And then I gave her Jesus. It was very moving and from that day we may not have agreed but we could put our disagreements and our relationship as Christian brother and sister into two different boxes and thus disagreeing did not have to mean that there was hardship between us.

So during this morning Mass I wondered, “Is this a sign that although they disagree with me it will not affect their faith? Will this be as the story that happened so many years ago?" As it turned out the person at Mass the other morning was not who I thought it was but only looked very similar. That does not mean that we can still agree to disagree, but the symbolism of it would have been great. Such is the wisdom of Christ to give us such sacraments.

FRIDAY POPOURRI: AT A CROSS ROADS

This cross is a cross bottony and is used primarily in heraldry. “Bottony” means button or blossom. At the end of the four arms of the cross three buttons (or the three blossoms) form a sort of trefoil or three leafed plant (such as the clover) – a common symbolic device of Christianity heavily used in Gothic architecture. Most commonly this symbol represents the Trinity – one shape with three parts. Combined with the cross then we have a small catechism. We have one God (the unity of the entire symbol.) This one God is in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the trefoil.) The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Son, Jesus, took flesh, came among us, and saved us from our sins by dying on the cross. In my opinion this is the most common understanding of this cross but the buttons may have other meanings also.

Considering that there are four branches of the cross each ending in a trefoil it could also be a symbol of Christ and His apostles since there would be 12 “buttons.” It could also remind us of the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

As stated above this ornamented cross is a heraldic device. You can most commonly see it on the arms of Saint Philip. It is said that he was crucified upside down though his cross is not portrayed this way as it would be for St. Peter. It is also said that he used a cross as weapon with which he drove away the dragon from the Temple of Mars. If the symbol of this cross is so packed with meaning it is no wonder – even if the dragon would simply symbolize the driving out of the belief of false gods for the One, True God.

This cross can also been seen on the coat of arms for the state of Maryland. According to state law, “Section 13-203. Only a gold cross bottony may be used as an ornament on the top of a flagstaff that carries the State flag.” But at least according to one source the cross has less to do with Christian symbolism and more to do with Lord Baltimore’s wife’s family’s coat of arms. Her last name “Croffland” when transliterated into Latin is “Crossland” and so the used a cross on their arms.

IT'S A BIG, BIG HOUSE. SORT OF

We have a relatively new music ministry in the parish that is made up of mostly high school folk that sing worship and praise music. Before going to Steubenville for a youth conference they gathered on the front steps of the church and ran over their music. (This gave me the idea that we need a summer lawn and picnic concert series here next year.) The music that they do is very contemporary and I quite enjoy it. Thus far they have played during adoration when we have our confirmation meetings and a song or two during Mass a couple of times. One of the songs they like to do is “Big, Big House.” The words say something like, “ It’s a big, big house with lots and lots of rooms . . . it’s my Father’s house.” The Church is like a big, big house with the whole extended family living under one roof. And when you have so many people living under one roof, no matter how big the house is, some of the people under the roof will get on the nerves of other people under the roof. Such is our fallen nature.

Now it would be one thing if some of the people under the roof were doing things that were contrary to house rules. An extreme example would be one of them selling drugs to neighborhood kids. That is completely unacceptable. Something should be done. It is another thing, when, even following house rules, some people are bothered by other people. “George is reading again and I want him to come outside and play with me! Make his stop reading!” Well, George has a right to read and so we let him alone even as it drives someone else nuts. But we are family and so we do the best we can.

It is not much different in the actual life of the Church. It is true that there are things that are clearly off of the Catholic playing field. These can be in our corporate life, such as using beer instead of wine at Mass, or in our private life such as having a harem but wanting to declare yourself a good practicing Catholic. House rules are house rules.

But even when someone is clearly on the Catholic playing field, there can still be controversy. Liberal, at least in my understanding of the word, is a rare beast in the Church and is usually not found where one expects it. My understanding of the word when referring to persons in the Church is one who is open to everything that is valid in the Church. If the Church says, “Yes,” then the liberal says, “Sure. Why not? I will not be more restrictive in than the Church.” But many times those who freely take on the title liberal have a small set of Catholic practices or beliefs that are held onto passionately making them the mirror image of traditionalist that can have a similar small set of beliefs or practices and each turns their nose at the other.

The same thing could be said between countries. Very often those of us in the West can think we have a superior handle on what is right for the Church. If Rome doesn’t tag along we accuse them of lagging, not getting it, or being fuddy duddys. If the Church in Zimbabwe doesn’t agree with us we take our definition of freedom, justice, and modernity and think that of course they should accept what we hold dear because it is right and they should come to accept it even if they are not ready for it. Granted there are some things that are just same the world around. You can’t shoot someone for eating a carrot out of your yard. But sometimes people of different nations and cultures have different ideas of freedom, justice, and modernity and they are on Catholic field. They have different problems and goals to which they need to attend. The big, big, house then seems to get a little smaller as we try to even out the rules for a billion people instead of the few thousand in a parish.

It takes a lot of smiling, a lot of acceptance, a lot of welcoming, a lot of understanding, a lot of self sacrifice, a lot of learning, and a lot prayer and trust in Jesus’ promises and the power of the Holy Spirit for us all to get along and if single households can’t always do it without a lot of clanging into each other, so much more need to work at peaceful coexistence as the universal family of our Father.

DEATH MADE EASY(er)

At death the rule book goes out the window.

The laws that we follows as Catholics are all about helping us lead a holy life – a life in which we have the best opportunity to obtain communion with saints for all eternity. They are there to keep us, to the best of their ability, in the commandments to love God above all and our neighbor as ourselves. They are not necessarily the best articulation of the law in assisting us in dying.

Many laws change when we are dying. Just for example, in case of just such an emergency, even a priest who has been defrocked, denounced, and despised is permitted (indeed constrained!) to carry on the sacraments for someone who is dying. The defrocking was there to help him and others live a better life. Faculties are granted to him in emergencies automatically in order to give the dying person the greatest opportunity available to be reconciled with his heavenly Father and so enter into heaven in the last moments of life.

Recently I was asked as to what a person should do when someone they know is dying. Pray with them. Help them unite their pains to Christ for the benefit of others. Talk with them about death. One of sad things is that this is one of the most important events in the person's life after baptism and nobody wants to talk about it! Of course one should call for the sacraments. If the person is near death request of the priest the apostolic blessing which has an indulgence attached to it. But if a priest is not available, does not know how to give the apostolic blessing, or forgets, there is still an indulgence available which throws out all of the otherwise necessary requirements for an indulgence. Here is how it is described in, “The Handbook of Indulgences Norms and Grants.”

“But if a priest cannot be present, holy mother Church lovingly grants such persons who are rightly disposed a plenary indulgence to be obtained in articulo mortis, at the approach of death, provided they regularly prayed in their lifetime. The use of a crucifix or a cross is recommended in obtaining this plenary indulgence.

“In such a situation the three usual conditions required to gain a plenary indulgence are substituted for by the condition ‘provided they regularly prayed in some way.’

“The Christian faithful can obtain the plenary indulgence mentioned here as death approaches (in articulo mortis) even if they obtained another plenary indulgence the same day.”

Lots of rules being thrown out the window here – but the point of law is to get us to live well while they are well, and to give us the best possible chance to die well – that is – in a state of grace.

Despite all of the rules being thrown out however there are still a couple of things that need to be done. The person needs to have some kind of regular prayer life. And they must also be properly disposed – they must be aware the indulgence – they must want it and be sorry of their sins. Pretty meager necessities if you ask me.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CLXXXII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "Progress is Providence

without God. That is, it is a theory that everything has always perpetually gone right by accident. It is a sort of atheistic optimism, based on an everlasting coincidence far more miraculous than a miracle." - G.K. Chesterton

QUOTE II “The only thing worse than not learning from one’s mistakes is learning the wrong lesson.” from Sharon Kay Penman’s, “Devil’s Brood”

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter asks, "Did you know, the FEST is a free, one-day Catholic family festival? As in previous years, this annual outdoor summer event will be held on the grounds of the Center for Pastoral Leadership, 28700 Euclid Avenue, Wickliffe, Ohio on Sunday, August 8 from noon until 10 p.m. The FEST will feature live music, games, activities, and much more. The day ends with Mass and an awesome fireworks display. More than 30,000 people are expected to attend this year's FEST now celebrating it's tenth anniversary." Read more here.

This was sent in: "I'm Miriam Stefania, web manager of the Communication Department of World Youth Day 2011 Madrid. I'm writing to you as I saw you had the link to the WYD 2008 official website on yours. I would like to kindly ask you to include the link of our website." Here's the link!

CK sent in this video teaser of a production of "The Screwtape Letters." Gosh I would like to see this.

Some Cleveland seminarians were interviewed in hopes of helping other men who are discerning the priesthood. If you would like to see the videos go here. You will need to click twice on the little "action" boards.

Russ sent in a (IMHO) hysterical parody of an already hysterical commercial. The first is the actual commercial, the second is the one Russ sent in. Hope it gives you a laugh today.