So I was tucked in, snug in my bed, when I heard my phone, which was plugged in on the other side of the room, buzz to tell me that I had received a text. Well, of course I couldn't fall asleep or stay in bed now if for no other reason but curiosity. But it could be an emergency - so - you know.
It turned out to be a message from Fr. Trenta in the next room over.
So there's that. Now I can't sleep because there's a mouse in the house.
But an interesting thing came to light at dinner the next night as we sat around the dinner table and discussed the mouse problem. It exemplified the reason I love having more than one priest at a parish. Priests are not a one size fits all no matter how hard we try.
We may all be saying the same thing, but we may say those things in a different way and one of these ways may relate to certain people more than others.
This will allow people to "hear" the message of the Gospel better. For example, at St. Sebastian over the summer, we had three priests to handle the Mass schedule. We couldn't be more different in our ways of delivering what in many ways is the same message.
And we each have a unique way of of extending the same message to the good people of West Akron with one or the other, perhaps, being more effective.
The next cause for concern was (the dog's) name. Upon hearing the name “Roomie” people’s first reaction was always first, “Oh . . .” followed by as polite an, “Eww,” as they could muster. First impressions of the name always turned to rheumatoid arthritis or rheumy eyes. Explaining the name helped. The dog was thought to be a companion for a person who was somewhat bedridden and he had named him Roomie as in, “This is my roommate – Roomie.” But explaining this became old quickly and it did not mitigate the problem that still nobody liked the name. But what name did fit him? Days were spent thinking about it. This led me to believe that I would not make a fit dad. My child would be 15 before I came up with a name; the quick finding of names of things not coming naturally to me.
Our mother parish, St. Vincent, right next door and the oldest parish in the city, came to the rescue. The pastor there had a dog, who regularly “wrote” an article in the parish bulletin. He was named Vinnie after the patron saint of the parish. With the precedent set, Roomie, the dog of the newest parish within the city limits, would now be named Sebastian.
I will be the first to admit that Sebastian is an awfully pretentious name for a dog and a nickname was eagerly sought. One day, shortly after his christening with his new name, a delivery man came to the door and took obvious delight in the dog. “What is his name?” he asked petting him on the head. Upon being informed that it was Sebastian he exclaimed, “Why that was me Pa’s name!” Quite intrigued we eagerly asked if his father was ever given any kind of nickname. “Sure he was,” said the delivery man. Excited to find out what Sebastian’s new nickname might be he was asked what his father was called. “Busty!” was the proud answer.
How they got “Busty” out of “Sebastian” is beyond me. In any event, Sebastian was not going to be called “Busty.” It seems inappropriate for a rectory dog of expected high morals. So for the most part he remains Sebastian though there are a few other nicknames to which he will readily answer: Poops, Sea Bass (my least favorite), Bosco (I don’t know why) Seraphim (long story) and a host of other names – but mostly he is just Sebastian.
Now after everyone went home at night there was something living in the house that could tell me if I should be concerned about a noise, that would alert me if I should miss the doorbell, and could divine which of the doors it was that needed answering without me running to the four corners of the house. It was a joy having a house mate.
I needn’t have worried about being alone however. A little patience would have revealed that the rectory was destined to be full of residents. And they were all welcome. As long as they liked dogs.
Although we don’t know the exact day, this year we are celebrating the 185th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated within the city limits of the city of Akron. That is not to say that there wasn’t perhaps a Mass celebrated in the area before this time but that this is the first known and recorded Mass.
In 1808 all of Ohio was part of the Diocese of Kentucky where Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget was the first bishop. He had about 10 priests to serve this vast area. Because of the growth of Catholics in Ohio, Dominican Father Edward D. Ferwick was named the first Bishop of the newly established Diocese of Cincinatti. He undoubtedly sent priests to the area to minister. They would travel from Canton through the woods and stay in people’s houses or even, from time to time, out in the open. Mass was celebrated in taverns, log cabins, in public buildings, and non-Catholic churches. Save for these visits, residents of Akron would have to travel to Canton, Doylestown or Cleveland for the sacraments.
Akron grew owing to the canal and this brought many Catholics to the area. 1833 is the year that we know for sure that a Mass was celebrated within the Akron city limits. The Rev. John Martin Henni who would later become the Archbishop of Milwaukee, came to say Mass in the log cabin of James McAllister, a local contractor. This is the anniversary that we are celebrating.
The pastor in Doylestown, seeing that the number of Catholics was growing, purchased separate sacramental register books to record baptisms, confirmations and wedding taking place in Akron beginning in 1937. Bishop Purcell, bishop of Cincinnati, visited the McAllister home again that home again that year and spoke to area residents about founding a parish that would serve the Akron and Cuyahoga Falls area and so the missionary parish of St. Vincent de Paul was founded, preceding the establishment of the Diocese of Cleveland by 10 years.
A Mass celebrating this history will take place at St. Vincent de Paul Parish (the mother church of Akron) on Thursday, September 27th at 7PM and you are invited to attend.
Most of the above information comes from Murray Powers’ book, “History of the Catholic Church in Summit County from Origin through ’76"
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "It is in fact nothing short of a miracle (and we should keep this fact firmly before our eyes) that the hierarchical slave-based societies of our ancestors reorganized themselves, under the sway of an ethical/religious revelation, such that the ownership and absolute domination of another person came to be views as wrong." from Jordan Peterson's, "12 Rules for Life"
QUOTE II: "Strive for humility, because totalitarian pride manifests itself in intolerance, oppression, torture and death. Become aware of your own insufficiency - your cowardice, malevolence, resentment and hatred. Consider the murderousness of your own spirit before you dare accuse others, and before you attempt to repair the fabric of the world. Maybe it's not the world that's at fault. Maybe it's you." same source.
QUOTE III: "First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye." from Matthew's Gospel 7:5.
The Akron City Parks Department is currently removing about a dozen sickly and dead trees from Forest Lodge. Believe me, when they are done, you won't even notice that there are any trees missing.
Our Annual Eucharistic Adoration continues until 8PM tonight. Come say hello.
New banners outside of the church.
New lighting at night.
E.P. sent in this very interesting picture.
The 185th anniversary of the first official Mass in the city of Akron will be celebrated NEXT Thursday with a Mass at St. Vincent at 7PM, Bishop Amos is the celebrant. You are invited.
There were likely other Masses celebrated before this one as priests came through the area, but this is the first well documented Mass.
The Keller Consort will be performing in Zwisler Hall this Sunday at 4PM. Free and open to the public. They will be performing Renaissance and Baroque music on period instruments along with demonstrations of the instruments.
I couldn't find them on line but here is some Renaissance music to give you a taste:
When you become a pastor, you become your Dad. You have the same mindset that once drove you crazy when he displayed it when you were young. There has not been one rectory of which I am been aware that the pastor/parochial vicar relationship does not, in some way, reflect a father son mentality at least when it comes to budgeting.
And I know that I sound and act like my Dad. But - but - but - and I HATE to say it - it now makes sense.
That goodness for the new LED lighting. That has cut a ton out of my worrying. But I mean - really - after you've lived in a house for a year do you really need lights to walk around?
So I happen to like it cold. Of course there are some things on which we are on the same side.
The dog came for his interview the following Monday morning. He looked like a black lab save that he was a little larger, hairier, and with a longer snout. And had a heart the size of a full moon. On one hand this was very endearing. On the other it made him go into an anxiety fit when it was apparent his owners were leaving without him. He threw himself against the door with the fervor of a man who was wrongly accused of a crime being thrown into solitary confinement for the rest of his life. The old curtains on the door windows were shredded. It was time to replace them anyway.
It took the better part of a day to coax the dog out of a deep depression. Not even food tempted him and at dinner I had to hold morsels of dog food up to his snout for him to mindlessly eat as he stared out the backdoor. At some point however something clicked and he simply decided to make the best of a stressful situation. I tried not to form a bond with the dog. What if the staff would say that it was too difficult to have a dog in the house? But he was extremely affectionate and turned on the charm full steam and within hours I was in love.
So we move into his first night at the rectory. Some dog book warned against ever letting a dog sleep in your bed. “You will come home one day and all your bedding will be chewed up!” it warned with great foreboding. When I went to bed, the dog came rested his chin on the edge of the mattress and looked at me with his big, black, watery eyes. I was strong however. If we were going to do this we were going to do it right. Besides, I had never slept with any living being in my bed and was not sure that I could start sharing it now.
The dog decided to settle for sleeping under my bed which was not a good move since he was a large dog. As he crawled under or tried to turn over it was like being in a commercial airplane with a little kid kicking the back of my seat. A couple of days later he settling on sleeping in the very back of the closet where there was a little private hideaway formed by my hanging cassocks.
Over the week, the dog, whose name was Roomie, and I became inseparable. He was a constantly glued to my side whether I was going into the office, my room, down in the basement, or anywhere for that matter. I soon discovered that walking him with a leash was rather redundant. Save for the occasional squirrel, he was not going anywhere without me, though I drew the line at the bathroom.
He did not come with any toys and so I dug around in one of my trunks and found old blue racquetball balls. After dinner when the staff had gone home, we would go to one of the long hallways in the house and I would chuck the ball with the dog in hot pursuit. Being that the ball had a lot of spring in it, it would bounce in any number of unpredictable directions and Roomie would do his best to try to subdue the thing before bringing it back for another go. It was quickly apparent that the dog had no athletic prowess at all (and would never develop it.) But he did have a lot of gumption and so kept at it.
The week passed quickly and the owners of the dog returned to take the dog home for the weekend and wait for a decision. Everyone had the intervening couple of days of the weekend to decide if a dog, let alone this dog, would be a good fit for the parish.
By Tuesday morning the dog was permanently installed in the house, the staff later informing me that they knew the dog was going to be a resident fifteen minutes after his arrival. They saw the bond fixed and made permanent that first day.
When I was in the seminary there were guys who dreamed (with the best of intentions) of one day being a bishop. My biggest dream was one day becoming a pastor of (what is now becoming extinct) a tiny, ethnic parish off in the corner of the diocese that most of the rest of the diocese forgot about. Things didn’t exactly turn out that way (for which I am grateful) but I am more glad than ever not to be a bishop.
Of course we never get the whole story, but in the paper today a bishop was accused of not removing a priest from ministry because of an accusation. According to the diocese the cases were immediately reported to the Child Protection Service (who would not, for purposes of confidentiality, respond). Apparently they did not substantiate the claims though. So what is the bishop to do? Remove the priest from service because of what the government considers a non-substantiated claim? Or should he get in the practice of remove anybody from any position because of any report? He will lose either way.
Maybe it is a situation that the Church brought on herself. And undoubtedly we still have a lot of change to bring about before things become better.
However, that a does not mean that every change is always good or warranted. Algirdas G. Nastvytis wrote in his Letter to the Editor in the August 25th Pain Dealer that “the main problem is priestly celibacy. It’s been a festering wound for 1,000 years since it was required.” He does not offer any clue as to what the problem is. Does celibacy lead to pedophilia? Really? All we have to do is allow marriage in the Church and there will be no more cheating on vows, no more abuse of pornography, no more child abuse? Clearly he is correct because we see none of these things in marriage (he said with a hint of irony.)
And, as a long time reader pointed out, does Mr. Nasvytis want to be the first to offer one of his daughters in marriage to man who has a tendency toward these problems to see if that would stem his desires? I am willing to bet not. This is not a solution and it was not well thought out - if at all.
“We also need to do away with professional clergy living in ivory towers. A reasonably intelligent male member of the Church . . . who can read and memorize, ‘This is my body; this is my blood,’ should be ordained as a priest.” Mr. Nasvytis has not done much work in history to find out why we make priests go to school - because of the dangerous things that can come of a man saying, proclaiming and teaching thing that cause harm and division within the Body of Christ.
“Why can’t Joe the plumber, Al the carpenter or Ed the lawyer say Mass?” He can. He does. Many of the men going through the seminary are second career men. In our diocese alone they have been accountants, artists, retailers, sportsmen, owners of businesses, teachers and in one case a widowed father and from many other backgrounds. They didn’t come from the planet Mars or were birthed from a university. The mystique is largely blows once someone makes a friend of a priest. My sister just last week said she used to put priests on a pedestal until she understood that they could be baby brothers.
We have a mess on our hands and much has been done to correct it. More can and should be done and quickly. But it must also be well thought out and effective or it just adds to the problem.
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "It might even be time to sacrifice what you love best, so that you can become who you might become, instead of staying who you are." from Jordan Peterson's, "12 Rules for Life"
QUOTE II: "If you cease to utter falsehoods and live according to the dictates of your conscience, you can maintain your nobility, even when facing the ultimate threat; if you abide, truthfully and courageously, by the highest of ideals, you will be provided with more security and strength than will be offered by any shortsighted concentration on your own safety; if you live properly, fully, you can discover meaning so profound that it protects you even from the fear of death." same source.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Guess who got skunked last night! He wasn't (isn't) happy but it was a bonding moment - well - night for the priests at St. Sebastian. The skunk was a surprise for him when he went sniffing under the slide in the playground. OHHHHH it was bad. Thank goodness for baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and Dawn!
Our 8th grade day school students are heading out to Shanksville today for the dedication of the Flight 93 Memorial. Find some press coverage HERE and HERE.
A. B. sent in an article HERE that is a little more clear than average as to why young adults leave the faith. I found it helpful. Thanks.
Here's proof from Schneider Park that fall is on the way . . .
So recently I was on vacation in up state New York. We went out to dinner at a restaurant to which I have been wanting to go for YEARS. We were hiking so I wasn't dressed as a priest. The waitress was friends with my sister and her family and greeted us (particularly me) warmly. Very warmly.
I kind of don't mind when a waitress calls you "sweetie" or "honey." And as nice as she was, she was also kind of touchy.
Not "touchy" in the temperament way - touchy in that she liked to touch me a lot.
I tried to ignore it but it was becoming difficult and so my brother-in-law came to the rescue.
You would have thought that I all of sudden turned into Mr. Heatmiser.
“What are you going to do with these empty rooms now?” asked the business manager about the vacated bedrooms on the top floor.
“I want to make them into nice suites and lure priests to come to St. Sebastian.” Being alone at the parish I hoped we might find a couple of retired priests that would like to take up residence. Or maybe one of the priests from the seminary would like to become a weekend associate and help with Masses and confessions and stay on for dinner and conversation. Maybe a foreign priest studying at the University would need a place to stay. In any event, if that was to happen, we would first need fitting quarters and so plans were set in motion to start creating desirable living spaces out of what had served as offices.
In general, it seems to me a good thing for parishes that can to have more than one priest to serve them. It is certainly no secret that one size does not fit all in this world and the same holds true when it comes to priests. Having more priests around at St. Sebastian would up the odds that someone not finding me their cup of tea would have a better matched spiritual guide and companion.
Then there is the selfish reason of having another priest to talk to in the evenings. My previous parishes always had at least three priests to discuss the day’s events with. And to be quite honest, there are some things that one should only speak about with other priests. It is also nice just to have something else alive in the house besides a fern with which to watch the game on T.V. or with whom to go to parish functions. But after five o’clock, everybody left and the rectory, and that, which felt cramped and loud during the day, seemed expansive and lonely at night.
The first resident would show up a few weeks into my assignment. The business manager came into my office and asked, “Father, what do you think about a dog?” I tried to hide my eagerness and cautiously asked, “Why do you ask?”
“Well, my sister has a several dogs and cats and they are moving. They have a new dog, a golden retriever and black lab mix that they can no longer care for. Father, it’s a great dog and if I can’t find a home for it, they are going to take it to the pound.”
After a bit of feigned hemming and hawing I agreed to an interview. The dog would visit for one week and then would go back home. Then there would be a staff meeting to see how everybody felt about the dog, and if everybody was Okay with it, St. Sebastian rectory would be its new home.
From the most faithful, faithful Catholic, to the vaguely nominal Catholic to the anti-Catholic it seems most people want to weigh in on the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. If and when you are pulled in to one of these conversations, here some things to avoid:
Don’t equate (or allow others to) the faith with the sins of some (or all!) of its members. There are two different things going on here. The problem here is what happens when a person or group of persons DON’T follow the faith. It is a failure of persons - not a failure of faith. Whether you are a pope or student in 2nd grade at your local parish school, you still have free will, and concupiscence still effects you and from time to time we fail. Sometimes spectacularly. It is why we have the sacrament of confession for one.
Don’t defend the actions of those who did wrong. It was a horrible thing and we should all be appalled. “Well it’s worse in . . .” doesn’t help. It was wrong and by our faith those who participated need to face the consequences of their actions. One does not hate the United States because somebody abused their freedom. We still believe in the United States and in freedom, we know we just need to deal with the abuse.
Don’t deny that the Church has sinners in it. There are 1.2 billion Catholics - more than half of all the Christians in the world. We are Church of sinners. Some are terribly rotten. It is embarrassing that some of them call themselves Catholic. But seriously - 1.2 billion people. Yeah - some of mess up big time.
Don’t let someone tell you that this is RESULT of the faith. (“Just look at the Crusades!”) I bet you can name more saints than another sinners, more great institutions than another wars. And those things that they are able to name - how many were a result of persons running contradictory actions to the faith?
Don’t let someone tell you something that sounds fishy without backing it up. An editorial recently (it may be blog fodder next week) stated that this is a sign that we need to get rid of priestly celibacy, as if that somehow caused it. There was no citation, no reasoning why this move would solve all or even some of the crisis problems. If it did, there would be none of these problems in marriages.
Don’t clump broad swaths of people into a group, “Those bishops! Those priests!” as if they were all the same - it perpetuates what we would call in other circles prejudice or guilt by association. It ruins the reputations of good people.
Don’t take on the sins as if they belong to the whole Catholic Church. They belong to those who sinned.
Don’t make those who sin “the others.” In exactly the opposite of the last point, when part of the Body of Christ is effected, the whole body is effected. The Church needs to examine herself, make amends, do penance. We are not islands unto ourselves. We are one. We take on each others victories and faults and work together as a body to both build up and purify the Church.
FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND: "The Catholic Church is such a large, fascinating, complex and storied institution, and Catholic life is so focused on institutions like parishes, schools and hospitals, that it's easy for serious Catholics to lose sight of something quite basic: Catholics aren't - or shouldn't be - at Mass on Sunday because they admire the pope of the day, or their local bishop, or their pastor. Catholics come to Mass on Sunday to hear what we believe to be the Word of God in Scripture and to enter into what we believe to be communion with God because of Jesus Christ." from George Weigel's column of 1 September in the Wall Street Journal.
QUOTE II: "Yet much as I share the anger and disgust of my fellow Catholics over what has surfaced these past months, I'd suggest to those imagining themselves in a crisis of faith that they're experiencing something different: a challenge to understanding what the Church really is . . . it is important to refocus on the basis of Catholic faith, which is trust in Jesus Christ." same source.
IN OTHER NEWS:
E. F. sent this latest Chesterton news inUpdate on the investigation into an opening of a Cause for GKChesterton: the initial paperwork file is completed, 120 pages plus footnotes. This has been handed to the Bishop of Northampton, and a small committee has been assigned to read and advise. We trust the work of the Holy Spirit to guide us now and as this proceeds either to open or not open. We trust in God’s plan.
A. B. sent in THIS interesting article to think about.
Here are some events coming up:
This is from Sunday's "An Evening with G. K. Chesterton" with Mr. Chuck Chalberg sponsored by the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society to help celebrate the parish's 90th anniversary. Thank you to everybody who helped make it a great night.
Here is where I was last week and why I was not posting:
This is the new "Garden House" at my sister's. It's no bigger than a postage stamp but I want to live in it.
Bishop Barron has a number of video's on the Church crisis. Here is just one of them (8 mins.):
Having had a recent birthday, I was struck by how things you loved as a kid are not so great as an adult and visa versa. Take this birthday treat for example:
Even one's views on certain presents changes between being a younger person and an older one:
And then there is this - said over the course of three notes to express embarrassment:
Just a note - I will not be posting the rest of the week. I will be back the following week!
