MONDAY DIARY: BARBARIC AND DANGEROUS PRACTICES OF OLDER CIVILIZATIONS.

So a small but dedicated band of parishioners have taken it upon themselves to put the parish archives in order.  It's all there.  There just no systematic way to get at it all.  And there is a LOT of junk in the room.  When there was no place else to put STUFF that nobody wanted to be responsible for throwing away, it was placed in this room.

They've been working on it for months now and have found some pretty amazing things.  They have also found TONS of pictures of people about whom we have no idea who they are or what they are doing.  Rule no. 1:  If you are going to take pictures, make note somewhere of these things so that people in the future can have a clue as to why they are holding on to them.  Perhaps one day we will put them out in the church and see if people can help us out.

I was called downstairs to consult on a couple of items when one of the volunteer archivists pointed to a mysterious black box sitting high on a shelf out of every one's reach.

I pulled a chair into the room, climbed up on it and retrieved the mysterious, now we know plastic, black box.

I pressed a little black button on the side and . . .

It was an old fashion Polaroid Camera!  (It seems weird to call it old fashioned - it is a sign that I am getting older that things that I grew up are now antiques.)  It must be this rascal that is responsible for those boxes and boxes of pictures.  We know that the thing has been unused since I've been at St. Sebastian and who knows how long before that.  I imagined that the batteries were long since dead and that there was no film and now, digital being all the rage, I doubt film can even be found for it.  So what was to be done with it?  (Anybody out there need one?)

Now that the mystery was over I tried closing the thing back up.  Easier said than done.

Turns out that the battery was not dead - and apparently there was still film in it.  What a waist of some of the very last Polaroid film available in the world.  So back to trying to close the thing again.

At this point I handed it to an adult to close.  I was clearly not technologically savvy enough to handle the job.  But clearly recognizing that this archaic piece of technology was a dangerous instrument to place in the hands of untrained personnel, we placed it back on the shelf.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HE TOOK THE CHALICE IN HIS HOLY AND VENERABLE HANDS

I thought for a spell that we would take a look at some of the sacred vessels used here at St. Sebastian.  Rarely do people get to have a very close look so maybe you might find it interesting. 

This is a chalice of my possession (some will belong to me, some to the parish, and some to Fr. Pfeiffer) that I inherited from the Rev. Robert Hilkert.  He was my first pastor as a newly ordained priest and just an overall great human being.  I am very thankful that he was there to be my first mentor.

This was his main chalice that used most regularly on Sundays.  For its size it is quite heavy.  He was in his 80s when I was with him and he had to use both hands to lift it up and even then he could only lift it so high.  It was also black as black could be.  I told him I would clean it for him but he thought it fine just the way it was.

Its provenance is unknown.  (Did he buy it?  Did he get from another priest?  Did he have it commissioned or was it one of many?)  All I know is that being entrusted to me the first thing I did was send it away to be cleaned.  I told the company that I thought it was not that special of a metal being heavy and completely back as it was.  It was later that I was informed that it was silver.  Solid silver.

When the chalice was cleaned I had this inscribed on the bottom:

The Rev. Robert . Hilkert

Tu es sacerdos in aeternum

Ordained 1912

Died 2005

I apologize for the quality of the pictures.  My camera just does not seem to be taking as good of pictures as it once did (is that possible or are my expectations rising?)  Anyway, you can see that there is a lot going on here.  At the base of the cup (above the blue node) there is a depictions of the Holy Spirit as a dove, olive branch in beak (peace) whose wings are holding the base of the cup.  The Holy Spirit is perched on a blue and white stone that is rather reminiscent of the planet Earth.

The base below the stone is a flame of fire - another symbol of the Holy Spirit rising from the crown of thorns (The Passion) which encircles the base of the chalice.  In the center front of the chalice is a cross with a diamond at its center.  The inscription around the base reads, "PAX NOSTRA CARITATE CHRISTI REDEMPTORIS" or "OUR PEACE, THE LOVE OF CHRIST REDEEMER."

It is thought that the paten (plate) that came with the chalice is not original.  This chalice may not have been commissioned with a paten.  Shown here (sorta - again, sorry for the quality of the picture) is the Lamb of God sitting in the book with seven seals (from the book of Revelation) holding the flag of victory and the word PAX or PEACE.

I like to use this chalice in advent and lent and for funerals.  St. Sebastianites will notice this chalice during this Lenten season at all of my Masses.  Rest in Peace Fr. Hilkert.

PLEASE CURB YOUR SINS

I am very happy to report that the trash cans are back in the city parks a month early. For the first time since I’ve lived here they have taken away the trash cans for the winter with the explanation that “they always do that.” The problem with that is that we still need trash cans.

One of the many reasons they are still needed is because even though it is winter, your dog still needs walked and dogs still do their business and you still have to pick it up. Instead of dropping it in the nearest trash in the winter you have to carry the heavy warm goo with you wherever you go. That is why we save plastic bags at St. Sebastian.

Regular plastic grocery bags are Okay but very bulky. Their advantage is that once tied they have a handle by which you may carry them. Slightly better is newspaper bags – especially Sunday’s – they are much easier to stuff into your pocket and are long so that they may be tied and carried, but they are prone to ripping and if it is an especially generous day from your dog, it is sometimes difficult to pull the bag inside out over your fist.

The penultimate is bread bags. They are thick, strong, compact, and long. I save these for special days. But even so – it makes a walk so much more enjoyable if there is a trash can and so you do not have to carry around even this special bag.

Then there are those who are so upset that they have taken away the cans that they leave their special gifts in the park. But you know what? It doesn’t just disappear. Everyone must deal with it then.

You know, it’s Lent. Are you carrying around a load? You know – you don’t have to. Dump your load at confession. Too many people spend too much of their time carrying their stuff around – trying to find the best way to carry it – but no matter how much you may shield yourself from it, you’re still carrying around a bag of stuff. The confessionals are ready. You will enjoy the rest of your journey so much more if you get rid of your load now. Soon, the confessional lines will get longer and longer the closer we get to Easter. Relieve yourself now. Enjoy the freedom. Even if you are a million miles away from where you are supposed to be, you can drop off your bag, turn around and start walking back and tomorrow you will be that much closer.

Don’t leave your mess for others to deal with. No matter how well you think you covered it over or made sure nobody saw, it’s still there and until it is taken care of properly, it’s still a mess that someone else risks accidently stepping in.

Help keep America clean. Put stuff where it belongs.

IT'S COMPLICATED

How often do you read here of a pat on the back to a newspaper for their coverage of a complicated and controversial subject concerning the Catholic Church?

Extremely rarely.

This is one of those days however. Hats off to the Plain Dealer Editor who wrote about the church closings this past Sunday. Facts were carefully laid out and a broad array of consequences – no hyperbole – no telling the Church what it needs to do (usually from non-Catholics or those who are barely practicing) – and no taking sides and emotional, not always well thought out, please. That is what I was taught in grade school a newspaper article should be.

The editor hit the nail on the head – the bishop is in for a rough time no matter what he decides. He might spend the time and resources to appeal the decision. Of course this will further the hurt of those who are currently rejoicing that their parishes are reopened. It also places the congregation from Historic Saint Peter in a more precarious position concerning their membership in the Catholic Church. And the local Church will be out some examples of mighty fine architecture.

It seems Rome is moving toward a view of preserving parishes – not necessarily congregations but parishes. This is, of course, much easier to do in Europe where the buildings are maintained by the state and if one needs to mothball a building, the five foot thick walls can stand abandoned for some time and when the need for the building returns, slap some new plaster on it, fix the roof, and there you go. Who ever heard of HVAC in a 500 year old building?

Obviously the state does not support church buildings in the United States, not even those of a historic nature. In fact, when we stop having Masses in these buildings they go on the tax rolls. They become a significant burden on the diocese. And to be quite frank, we cannot mothball our buildings for long. They are not built to withstand it. Try letting one of our buildings sit fallow for ten years and see if there is anything left worth saving.

On the other hand, what if the bishop decides not to challenge the decision – or if the decision is held up, there are many other repercussions. One lady who was interviewed about the reopening of her parish (in another article) said that as far as she knew the building would need a little dusting and then they could start right up. I wish it were so. In actuality it would be like starting a whole new parish but with significant expenditures coming upon it immediately. Many of the parishes no longer have a significant Catholic population within its boundaries. Those who attend will have to sacrifice mightily and quickly to get things up and running.

That also means people at other parishes will have to lose priests. The appointment of the pastors of the new merged entities is up for questions. Many times they were placed there to be a neutral person of the combined parishes. What of them? Will the congregations (and the priests!) have to go through changes again? What of the surrounding parishes? We have already discussed the possibility of taking a significant slash in next year’s budget because some new parishioners will be leaving to go back to their former parishes. Sacramental records will be a mess. Where were you baptized? At St. Combinedparishes which may never have canonically existed or where your parents originally belonged or at the parish Church in which it took place but has returned to its former name?

These are just some of the issues that have popped up recently. I am sure there are far more involved than I realize at this moment just as the well intentioned lady thought that nothing much more needed to be done than dust. Just be aware that whatever happens: it’s complicated.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLIII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: Their marriage is a good one. In our eyes, what makes a marriage good? Well, that the tether fray, but not break and that they stay together. One should be watching while the other dies.” from Howard Nemerov’s “The Common Wisdom”

QUOTE II: “The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.” Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (I might amend it to when a child is conceived . . .)

IN OTHER NEWS:

Students for life sent this out concerning a web seminar that will be held TONIGHT concerning the HHS mandate. "Learn what's at stake -- and discover how YOU can help to stop [the] Abortion Drug Mandate by joining a one-time-only LIVE webcast event this Tuesday, March 13, at 9 PM Eastern (6 PM Pacific, 7 PM Mountain, 8 PM Central.)

"The live event will be approximately 25 minutes long. There's no charge to participate. If you have access to the Internet -- even with a dial-up connection -- you can listen in on the live webcast audio and submit questions. There is limited space available for this live event, so you are strongly encouraged to register now!" For more information click here.

From the Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter, "Friday, March 23rd at Noon, citizens across the country are being asked to gather outside federal buildings in cities throughout the United States to "rally" in defense of religious freedom and stand up against the Federal Health and Human Services mandate requiring Catholic institutions to pay for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception." Read more here.

From the same source: "The Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate has fueled debates over the Obama Administration's unwillingness to grant the necessary exemptions to religious institutions, forcing these institutions to pay for medical procedures that go against their religious beliefs." An expert from the Becket Fund will explain what is at stake. Read more here.

From the same source about a show originating in Cleveland and now going national: "Well known Catholic Psychologist, Dr. Ray Guarendi, is hosting an informative new series on EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) entitled "Living Right with Dr. Ray." Read more here.

This is from St. Hilary - our neighboring parish. The date is wrong but they will still be doing this on Good Friday.

Fr. D sent this link to the best (and most honest) headline to come around in a long time.

P. W. sent this 10 minute video in. I never these people before but I like this video. I hope that they do more good things. It is in reference to that viral video "Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus.)

L.G. sent this in if you just need a good laugh today. Isn't it nice to know that these are professionals? It makes me feel better about my efforts.

F sent in this optical illusions. Pretty cool. Thanks.

MONDAY DIARY: GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER

The boss is coming for dinner.

This line makes me think of a set up for a Dick Van Dyke episode. You want everything to be perfect – you want to impress “the boss” – the only thing you need is for the whole world to cooperate.

In a similar vein, our bishop, Bishop Lennon, was coming over for dinner on Friday. We were having confirmation and we invited him early to break bread with us. I thought I was handling it rather well - I thought I was smiling and trying put on a façade of taking it all rather drolly, but a friend told me he was staying away from me because he could tell I had taken on “a mood.” I didn’t know it. Well, I take that back. I knew it. I didn’t think anybody else knew it.

We spent the day getting the parish ready for confirmation. The church, besides being straightened up, had to be turned over from somber lent purple to celebratory Holy Spirit red. Extra chairs and materials set out, places reserved, all the objects used for the Mass set out. In the mean time a crew of two to six people have been working for two days on a fabulous meal. It was a challenge because it was a Friday in lent and I wouldn’t let a thirsty fish into the house for a glass of water. Fr. P took a year’s worth of accumulated stacks of paper and deposited them in the trash increasing the space in his office by 23%. The secretaries were working diligently to make sure all of the parish records were 100% up to snuff in case the bishop wanted to review them. I was taking care of last minute details – putting up parking signs, cleaning a guest room in case the bishop had need, (he never does) writing checks, and drugging the dog so that he would be well behaved when the bishop came.

Of course there are those things that cannot be helped – specters that hang over the day that could be a cause for the ruination of the evening. Less than 48 hours prior news spread about the reopening of parishes in the diocese by order of the Vatican (whatever that may eventually mean.) So we had a meeting. Do we talk about it or not? And with the swiftness of gavel strike we rendered the giant elephant invisible unless his Excellency wished to make it visible.

While trying to make it seem like everything was just flowing along effortlessly, Fr. P and I were quietly trying to manage three large groups of people. There were those to be confirmed who had to go to the hall to get their pictures taken and then come to the church meeting room to meet with the bishop before the Mass began (and then back to the hall after for a reception.) There were those at the dinner who had to finish eating just as it was time to get dressed and meet the young folk. Then there was everybody else, sponsors, parents, family, friends, who were gathering in the church. I would whisper to Fr. P., “Go see if they are ready for us,” and he come back and solemnly nod and then, as if were just meant to be we would announce, “Bishop, if you are ready, I believe the confirmandi are ready to see you now.”

By and large the night was a success. The confirmandi were vigilant and responsive, the bishop prayed a great Mass, the ceremony went well, there was a nice reception afterwards, the bishop was just swell, Sebastian was a gentleman largely due to his allergy medication, and I slept the sleep of a wet, rotting log in the forest.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: DEFINING YOU CHURCH - PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

At this point you should have collected information about your windows, statues, paintings and decorations, objects, and the physical building. Some of you will have tons of information, some relatively little – both are important. If you put this information together correctly it can become a useful tool for your school or CCD/PSR class, for general information for the parish, or for the archives for future persons to do something with.

When I put together this information for a parish I usually create two different documents; a very short, easy one to follow for people who are just curious but don’t want to spend two hours reading and a more comprehensive one for those who want something more akin to a teacher’s manual. After all – a church is a catechism in stone.

When putting your booklet together consider first a logical path through your church. Where will you start and where will you end and how will you get people there without making them run back and forth, “Now to the front of the church, now to the back of the church, now back to the front – now outside!” This is not the Insanity Workout. You want to provide a nice tour for people.

I usually start with the building in general – direction, shape, pillars . . . Then head into the sanctuary since this is what people look at in depth every Sunday. From there you might want to go to the right and work your way around the nave of the church. It might be advantageous to make two turns around the church if, for example, your windows have one constant theme. In my first parish the windows told the story of salvation history (can you imagine how nice it was to take little kids over there and tell them the story of salvation history starting with the creation of the world and ending with Pentecost?) It made much more sense there to take the windows in order instead of constantly breaking to include other symbols. If the windows are not interconnected this may not be necessary.

This is not the way that I am going to do my current parish since the windows match in pairs on each side of the building working its way back. A different path will have to be worked out.

I do not recommend making an entire turn only referencing the Stations of the Cross for two reasons. 1) We go over the Stations of the Cross regularly every lent. 2) There is usually little symbolism. What symbolism there is may be referred to as you make the circuit. For example, why is Jesus wearing red? Or white?

Some symbols will pop up over and over again. Don’t ignore them but save yourself some work and simply refer back to earlier descriptions. “See Chi Rho on MAIN ALTAR page 3.”

Make clear sections and titles such as SECTION I: NAVE OF CHURCH – PART I – WINDOWS. This will make your booklet more user friendly. At the end of the booklet site your sources so that others might pick up the gauntlet and do research on their parish. I hope this series has been helpful.

MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES

Though it sounds nice enough, this is actually known as the “Chinese curse.” “Interesting” has no value. It simply means that someting draws your attention. So St. Maxamilion Kolbe’s life was very interesting, but I would not want to live it. Patty Hirsh’s life was interesting but . . .

So occasionally someone desiring to give a priest a compliment says, “Oh! You should be a bishop some day!” Every priest knows this is meant as a compliment but most know it is an ecclesiastical curse. And for those priests who don’t see it as a curse there is the adage, “He who wants to be a bishop deserves to be one,” also not meant in kindly terms.

If there were glory days for being a bishop they are over and have been for some time. We have occasional glimpses of what seems to be pretty swell lives but those moments are few and far between and not quite what they are cracked up to be. In fact there is a problem about getting priests to become bishops. There was, perhaps, at one time, a false modesty in which a man might refuse the office, “Oh, but I am not worthy,” as opposed to today when it appears that more and more priests say, “No thank you,” and pray they are not asked the second time (when it is much more difficult to say no.)

This post was on the docket today before the latest news broke out in the Diocese of Cleveland. If you missed it the Vatican reversed some of the closings of parishes in this diocese. Now if I do something for which I might be taken to task for by my parishioners it is just that – I have a group of parishioners mad at me. But if I go to the next parish over for dinner they most likely have no idea what I did to make a few people angry. If you are bishop and something like this happens, it is on the front page of the newspaper. As the song goes, “Nowhere to run to nowhere to hide. . .”

There are some bishops that I tend to agree with and those whose decisions on certain issues I might not, but I don’t believe there is one bishop who wakes up in the morning thinking, “How can I destroy the Catholic Church?” No matter what he might do, he thinks he is doing the best for his diocese – for the people he is charged to serve. I also fully believe that Christ founded a not just a religion but a Church, His Church, and that He left people in charge to assist us; namely the pope and bishops. Like St. Peter they are sometimes brilliant and sometimes not so much. But you know what, 2000 years later and having every other government on earth either defunct or changed dramatically the Catholic Church struggles on. And that God pulls this off using fallible human beings is just further evidence that it is the Holy Spirit holding things together.

So I guess this is a call to respect and honor the office of bishop (and by no means wish it on anybody.) By this I do not mean that everything a bishop does is correct and that concerns should not be brought to his attention (it is our right and duty to do so) but to bear in mind that he is our spiritual father of the local Church and to respect the office. And should things not seem quite right in the state of Denmark to pray all the more for your bishop. The best outcome is that either he or we convert to truth and that we can be united once again in Christ.

I NO LONGER LISTEN TO NPR. WHY DO YOU?

Actually that’s not true. I still listen to NPR. As a matter of fact I was listening to it on Monday going to the grocery store and I heard a segment about Soraya Chemaly who wrote an article for the Huffington Post entitled, “I’m No Longer Catholic. Why Are You?” The thing that I find most interesting about the segment is that it existed in the first place. When was the last time you heard radio programs or read (besides blogs and such) about people saying, “I’m not longer Methodist, how about you?” or “I’m no longer Presbyterian, or Jewish, or Hindu?” Certainly except on the most rare occasions do hear about the great numbers of people who become Catholic every year (or even specific persons.) Until the event was moved to the Cleveland Diocese cathedral, those coming into the Catholic Church every year in this diocese alone was so large as to fill the floor of the convention center in Cleveland. Was there ever even a mention of this? Once?

Hundreds of thousands of protesters converged on our nation’s capitol on Pro-life Sunday, hundreds from north east Ohio alone. Did you hear a peep anywhere? The major media that did report on it tended to focus on the relatively miniscule group of people who were protesting the protesters.

It is “in” not to be Catholic. (Yet another good reason to be Catholic.) It is going to get a LOT worse before it gets better – A LOT WORSE and for a long time. There is a love/hate relationship between modern culture the Catholic Church. That is why we say that the Church is counter cultural and if you are “counter” you will be demonized. Forget black clothing, multiple piercings, tattoos on your neck, and pentagrams hanging from your neck, if you want to be counter cultural, be Catholic.

If you want to be Catholic in these times you are going to have to pray and THINK. When you hear a radio program like the one mentioned about ask yourself, “Why is this program being aired? Where is the balance? Who else is treated like this?” If you rely on the popularity of being Catholic to be Catholic you are in for some rough times. (Conversely, if you are a contrarian and Catholic this is your time to shine!) But for most it will be a daily grind. Get used to it.

The most important thing to keep in mind is the Eucharist. When I hear people like Soraya Chemaly state the reason why they left the Church – for many reasons that are very important to them – never is the Eucharist mentioned. Here is the source and summit of our lives and it is not so much as mentioned as a regret having to leave it behind. Could they have ever understood what it means to be Catholic? If they found that they “had to leave” but could not so much as say how much it will hurt to leave the Eucharist behind tells me that they never got it in the first place.

Are there issues to work through in the Catholic Church? You bet. Are they worth giving up the Eucharist? Not even remotely. In these times keep your eyes in Him.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLII

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  Anne Frank

QUOTE II:  "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die, so that you may live as you wish."  Mother Theresa

IN OTHER NEWS:

L.G. sent this video "Hallelujah" in quite a while ago.  I just got around to listening to it.  Wow.  Thanks.

Why become a priest?  Here's 2:30 worth of reasons:

Francis Cardinal George wrote, " . . . This year, the Catholic Church in the United States is being told she must "give up" her health care institutions, her universities and many of her social service organizations. This is not a voluntary sacrifice. It is the consequence of the already much discussed Department of Health and Human Services regulations now filed and promulgated for implementation beginning Aug. 1 of this year.. . ."  Read more of his letter here.

P. V. sent this link to an article entitled, "What If the Bishops Aren't Bluffing?"  Thanks.

Phillip Rivers talks about being Catholic.  1:45 spiritual boost:


Have you been getting the Email telling you to refuse the new one dollar coin because the words, "In God We Trust" are no longer imprinted on it?  Check out snopes for the story here.  Thanks P. S.

E. S. sent in this link to a letter written by the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Timothy Cardinal Dolan to his fellow bishops concerning the handling of the issue of religious freedom and the White House.  Instead of relying on the media read for yourself what he has to say here.  Thanks E. S.

CORRECTION:  Yesterday it was reported that Fr. Pfeiffer was ten years younger than I am.  In actuality he is twelve years younger.  Adam's Ale regrets the error.  You don't know how much.

MONDAY DIARY: AN EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORY ABOUT LENT

So there is a group at the parish that started working out at the parish the first Monday of lent.  I should point out that it is called "The Insanity Workout" and that they were doing it at 5:45 in the morning which is the same thing.  Fr. Pfeiffer and I decided that as part of our Lenten practice that we would join them.  There is a lot of sacrifice involved here (did I mention the words "insanity" and five-forty five) - and the whole idea of "body as a temple of the Holy Spirit - and so it seemed like a perfectly good Lenten resolve.

Anyhoo, the first day my alarm clock goes off and I pry myself out of bed.  Sebastian walked out of his closet for a moment, took one look at me and (I swear he rolled his eyes) went back to bed.  I dutifully got dressed and started turning on lights in the house.  There was NO sign of Fr. Pfeiffer so I went and knocked his door.  NO RESPONSE.  "Fine," I thought to myself, "This will just give me ammunition to make fun of him later," and I set off for our gym.

Something seemed strange as I approached the building.  There were no cars in the parking lot.

I had miss-set my alarm clock.

After an hour nap both Fr. Pfeiffer and I show up in the gym and the work out began.  My poor body, not having worked out for about six months and having no warning was furious with me.

It was not pretty and definitely not fit for young audiences.  I made it through without either dying (to which I came close) or losing the contents of my stomach (to which I came even closer.)

That would have been Okay.  But then these monsters put in a SECOND TAPE.  "Abs Buster" or some such thing.  All I wanted to do was head back to the rectory and rock in a corner with my arms around my knees if I could still find them but NOBODY ELSE LEFT so of course I witjh all my male pride could not leave either.  I think this time I did die for short period of time.

Fr. Pfeiffer fared MUCH better than I did.  I like to think it was because he was much better prepared than I.

However, I think the real reason is that he is ten years younger.
One of the guys stopped me on the way out with a piece of advice.

I thought he was a bit touched. 

Turns out he was a prophet.  But then again, all prophets are a bit touched.

Life didn't get much better after that.  I have a very heavy chalice that I like to use during lent.  I almost couldn't lift it during the consecration.

As the week went on things got better - not the least of which I became an expert at walking down steps backwards.  I am also considering becoming a poster child for a pain relief cream that someone recommended.  Truthfully, I am amazed that by waking up at 5AM I am getting more done by 11:00AM than I used to get done by 4:00PM.  Of course I am a brain-dead zombie by 9:00PM.

Ahhh - so this is what it is to be 46.

Monday starts week II.

Dear Jesus, if you can hang on a cross for three hours for me, I can do this for you.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: DEFINING YOUR PARISH: LAST THINGS

There are a few other features that you might want to touch upon. These are not symbols so much but they would be very helpful for people to know about. Take the Stations of the Cross. Most people think the stations are pictures around a Catholic Church marking the Passion of Christ. They are not. They are fourteen wooden cross to which pictures may be attached. The indulgence is attached to the wooden crosses not the pictures.

If your church was consecrated you should have a number of crosses on the walls of your church. The number may vary but usually it is twelve. Most people think that the candles are that which are important. They are not. The important part is the cross, painted, sculpted, or hung, in front of which a candle may be placed. These are the spots where the bishop consecrated the building with holy oil.

Others may benefit from seemingly ordinary things being explained. What do all the markings on the Paschal candle mean? Is there heraldry in your parish? Why is it there (there are old posts on AA to help explain this) and what do they mean? How about relics?  What about the relics in (or under) yor altar?  What do you see – that perhaps you don’t see in Protestant Churches – that you never thought to wonder why it is there?

Here’s something that came up since I wrote to you last week. Remember the comment about the twelve pillars and how most parishes that have pillars tend to have 12? Well, I was at a church this past week that I believe was built in 1929 that only had four pillars. Upon closer inspection the tops of the pillars were decorated with symbols of the four Evangelists. The pillars, then, represented the four Gospels upon which the Church is built. Pretty cool! I hope you discover cool things about your parish.

DID YOU HEAR WHAT HAPPENED TO MRS FUSTER LAST WEEK?

Why do we talk in church?

I find it interesting that when we have an event such as a funeral or wedding and many Protestants are present, they are often much quieter than Catholics. I have a theory on this though not necessarily a solution. If you have one I would be glad to hear it. (Remember, this is my theory, not a scientific study.)

At another assignment I had a pastor who used to go out among the people before Mass and encourage them to talk to each other. “Everyone here is from someplace else,” he explained to me, “they have to get to know each other if they are going to be a community.” I understand his point.

The parish in which I grew up was a nationality parish. It seemed everyone knew everyone and one half was related to the other half. They belonged to the same ethnic club, lived in the same neighborhood, went to the theater owned and operated by the community, went to the same bars, same bowling alley, and worked in similar jobs. When they went to church it was time to pray. The church was quiet before Mass. Someone trying to pray did not have to ward off evil thoughts while being constantly distracted by, “Pssst mumble ssspss NEPHEW who psss mumble muble spspps THREE TIMES and mumble sppst with his girlfriend. NO! YES! Hand to God.” All that was said at the hall the night before.

Church is not ideally envisioned the way we experience it now. Can you imagine living in a small European village and everybody coming out of their homes about the same time and talking as they walked to church (Mom described this experience growing up in Barberton) and then arriving at church and going in and having no need (really) to chat. There would be more time later, now we are quiet and praying.

How is it today in most of the United States? We drive to Mass, probably last minute, and unless we are actively involved or have kids in the school this might be the only time we see many of the people we encounter there. It feels almost rude not to say something so we do and sometimes that elicits a couple of other comments. This takes place whether we are on time or not. There is little transition time between a frustrating drive and full and active participation in the Mass. Then afterwards (hopefully) we squeeze out and head for our cars and head back to our home. No kidding we talk before and after Mass. When else would we do it?

However, the rubrics for the Mass call for silence before Mass not only in the main body of the church but in all of the ancillary rooms as well. This makes sense if you consider the brouhaha trying to get everybody ready to go (especially the kid that doesn’t wanna) getting them in the car, hitting every red light, getting behind the slowest moving vehicle in the universe, not finding a parking place anywhere close to the church, walking in the rain, stepping in a puddle, having your youngest jump in a puddle on purpose, and then, adding insult to injury, entering into church (late) and finding some interloper occupying your pew! From there you are to enter into joyful song and praise of the Lord? You might be half way through the Gospel before you are calmed down enough to really hear anything (that is, if the phrase, “I have to go to the bathroom” hasn’t popped up yet.)

The silence is a cushion and a transition. It is invaluable. It is like fasting and praying – precisely because it IS fasting (from talking) and praying. So how do we get people to engage in it and not “pssst sotoe mumble he to HER!”

Donut Sunday. Works somewhat. I really have no idea.  At the Vatican they had guards walking around saying, "Silencio!"  Maybe give kids squirt guns to shoot any adult caught talking. That would work and be fun for the kids. “PLEASE! Can we go to Mass today? I have silence duty!” I would enjoy your thoughts.