What Paddy Shot At

I had the 11am Mass today and I asked people to sit for the Gospel and I preached first about this wonderful hymn that is the beginning of the Gospel of St. John. I reminded them that we use to say it as “the last Gospel” at every Mass before Vatican II. I think we learned in the seminary that it contains the whole message of Salvation History and that we were reminded of it just before we left Church to return to “the world” and bring it the message of hope that the Gospel brings.  Even though, I had read it over again this morning before Mass; it really is a powerful and beautiful bit of history and poetry and I was moved by it as I proclaimed it at Mass.

I offered the Mass for all those in our families and parishes and communities who have died during 2010. I think tomorrow, I might include them in “In Memorian” as I use to do in my Christmas letter. There have been many relatives and good friends who have “crossed over” this year.

Remembering them at Mass, led me to do some more “phone ministry”. Some of those I called were not home but others were. For the ones who I were not home, I left a message for, “I just wanted them to know they were in my thoughts and prayers as the year comes to an end.”

I also had a very nice long talk with Judy Fox, the sister of Brother Norval “Mort” Byrd and Jim Kehoe, the father of Ann Kehoe. Also spoke with my cousins, Ray and Linda Jensen in North Carolina, and Frances Sampogna, whose husband, Nick, died this year.

I spent the afternoon and early evening just relaxing and ‘escaping” into TV. I will probably go to bed soon and may wake up to see the Ball fall in Times Square but from a horizonal view. I have the 11am Mass tomorrow and I shall offer it for all of you, my blessings in 2010 and many other past years as well as asking God to bless you in 2011. Happy New Year.

Once again, I am just getting under the midnight curfew.

I got up at 6:30am at Maggie’s and headed out to St. Mary’s county. I arrived around 8:00am at St. Michael’s. Fr. Lee was in the church praying and he let me interrupt him so I could drop off some of the White House ornaments.  I also had a chance to speak to Anne Bishop. While I was at St. Michael’s, she made me the nicest alb and every time I put it on, I say a little prayer of thanks for her. Today, I finally had a chance to say thanks.

Then I went to the Hofmeister’s but it was only 8:20am and so I got no response.  Jean, Lila’s mom lives next door, so I left a bunch of the ornaments for the faculty at school.

Then I went by Cathy and Jerry’s to pick up Pat Delaney and drive her uptown. I was scheduled for the 11am Mass but at 10:40 I had just gotten on to Rt. 50 and I knew I couldn’t make the Mass. God love him, Fr. Jim took it for me and no longer rushing; I took Pat to the diner and then to her daughter, Mary.  I came home and took a nap.

My cousin, Ann was going to go to the Jensen’s with me but she is getting a cold and had to beg off. I went – and let me only say that I could never face the daily commute in DC. I thought I would lose my mind as I kept coming up to cars parked or stopped in the curb lane of the only two lanes going into the city!

I had a great time at Peg and Rick’s. Their daughter, Kate, who is working in real estate, and their son, Christopher, who is a student at Syracuse, New York and his friend, Halley Dodge, who is a student at the University of Arkansas joined us for a lovely dinner. Both the students had spent a semester in London and had great stories and pictures.

Rick got an I pod for Christmas and Kate, who seems to know everything about the electronic age I am being dragged into, demonstrated so many wonderful things that it can do. There were also great pictures of the family’s trip over to meet Chris when his semester ended and also some great pictures of the cruise Rick, Peg, and I went on with some friends a year ago last October.  After that great meal and some very good deserts that Rick made, we just sat at the table and had a good old fashion visit.

Rick gave me a box and a bag of photos and treasure that had belonged to our cousins, Peg and Doris Lohmeyer, both of whom died in the last couple of years. I will look through and try to add some more information to our family tree on Ancestry.com.

The trip home was nothing as many of the streets were bare as I suppose people are resting up for tomorrow night.

I have the 11am Mass on New Year’s Eve day and then I’ll say Mass at one of our senior residences and I probably will see the ball come down in Times Square from a horizontal view in bed. I wish all of you a very blessed and peaceful New Year.

I am down at my sister, Maggie but I wanted to get a message out. Today I had the 11:00am Mass. Thomas a Becket is one of my favorite saints from church history. If you have not seen the movie, “Becket” with Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole, you should. It is not the usual Hollywood adaptation of a real person and is mostly historically accurate. He was the last bishop struck down at the altar in 1170 A.D. until Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador was killed saying Mass on the feast of the Annunciation in 1985. I love the history of our church filled with courageous martyrs.

I spent much of the morning at my desk and preparing packages to send to relatives in the South for Christmas. This would seem strange unless you know that I send Christmas cards in late February or early July.

I arranged to meet the Bostons and their two grandchildren, Brian, age 7 and Ashley, age 4. The are the children of Christopher, the older Boston boy and his wife, Sara. Patrick, the younger and my Godson and his wife Danielle live in the Pittsburgh area; while Chris and his family live in Ohio. Grandma and Grandpa took the children during Christmas vacation and toured the museums in Washington. I joined them for dinner tonight and we had a delightful time.  All the family will spend New Year’s at 7 Springs, a ski resort that we seminarians use to go and visit when I was at St. Vincent’s.

I also spoke today with Keith, Sheila, and their grandson, Kieran in Pittsburgh. Keith had some serious heart surgery and the recovery has been slow. I hope to get up and see them early in January.

I also spoke with my cousin, Ann Brown O’Connell. She and I are going over to my cousins, the Jensen’s in Alexandria for dinner on Thursday, the 30th.

I’m spending the night here so that tomorrow morning, I can drive over early to St. Mary’s to drop off some Christmas ornaments and pick up Pat Delaney, who is visiting from Florida with her daughter in Ridge and I am driving her up to Olney to visit another daughter. I think she is heading back to Florida by train on New Year’s.

I have been running around a lot but I shall spend New Year’s Eve in seclusion.  Now off to bed.

Today I had the 8:00am, which was a nice change. It is the feast of the Holy Innocents and I preached about the many people who suffer for their faith in Jesus. I was thinking of that little Italian nun who was murdered by Islamic fanatics because they were mad about a cartoon about Mohamed and of those people in Bagdad who were murdered by the fanatics who came into the Cathedral and killed 58 worshipers. Every year Rome publishes the names of so many Catholics who have died during the last year as martyrs – I imagine the list will be a lot longer for 2010.

After Mass, I phoned Carol and Bob Boston, who had left a message on my phone in the rectory – which I don’t check very often. They are here with their family visiting DC. Today they are going to the Smithsonian but I hope that we’ll get a chance to visit tomorrow. They were in St. Camillus and now live in Pittsburgh. We’ve stayed friends and “family” for all these years.

Today, I also spoke with my sisters, Maggie and Marie. They are at some new Harbour place hotel near the Wilson Bridge with some of their “red hat ladies”. I’m sure they’ll have a ball!

I also talked with Joe Stoutzenber up in Philly. He has lots of snow! On Monday, January 3rd, he, John Bohrer, and Terry Odien are coming down for the day. We had such a great time the last visit; so I asked Fr. Jim to give me the 6:30am Mass that day, so I’d be free all day!

Also got an email from Mary Alice McGreevy that Marilyn Cavallaro was in the hospital with pneumonia and so I called Marilyn and Frank’s home and left a message that if she has a phone, I’d like the number to call her. Early this afternoon, Marilyn called and left a message for me. She is home and has a broken arm. I’ll call her tomorrow and maybe we can talk.

A lady called who had heard me say, “I’m kind of unemployed, so I am often in my office in the parish center, just come by if you want to talk”. So she did and we had a nice long visit. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Mostly, I spent the day doing “phone ministry” and I caught up with a number of friends. I talked to Joan Beall, Sharon Beall, and Betty Neary as well. Actually I called Joan and Betty back this evening to be sure they were watching TV because the Kennedy Center Honors were on tonight and the show was great.

I came over this evening and had soup, which I love, and just lounged around and listen to TV. I might go to bed early as I hope to do some running around tomorrow.

I had taken all my mail and other work over to the rectory last night in anticipation of being “snowed in” for days. Well, there was nary a drop in our area. Athough I hear St. Mary’s and Calvert got a lot and of course, north to Philly, New York, and New England. But for us only wind! and a lot of wind! So I kept going back down into my blankets and stayed in bed till 10:30am.

I had the 11:30 and talked about St. John and then since the office was closed, I sat at my desk and tried to straighten it up. Then I saw Fr. Jim and asked what his plans for the evening were and he said, “None”. So I suggested we take in a movie and dinner.

We planned to leave at 5pm but some people came for a special Mass and we helped them set up and then we left. We went to the Majestic in Silver Spring, which is very nice and part of the redevelopment of downtown. We saw, The King’s Speech, which I recommend if you want an interesting story and great acting. Then we ate at the Austin Grill, nearby and I just got home and thought before I head over to the rectory, I’d drop a line.  The Wind is still blowing strongly, can’t wait to get under the covers.

Had the 7:30am Mass. There was no snow! In my homily, I “borrowed” some words that Pope Paul VI used in a talk he gave on this feast in 1965. He said there were three special things we could learn from the family at Nazareth. First to love the silence. there were no TVs, or radios, or noise except the occasional humming of Mary or Joseph at their work, and the “chatter” that a small child makes as he or she entertains themselves.

Being one of those who turns the TV or computer on as soon as I’m in the room, I need to seek that quiet – much of which I lived in during Advent.

The second lesson was community. How the holy family loved and shared with one another and that such sensitivity to each other’s needs is the hallmark of the family with love in its center

The last was the appreciation of work. That in the home at Nazareth, which was probably also a workshop, one seens each member of the holy family contributing by their work.

I said that often in hearing children’s confessions, (which I love to do) they might tell me they don’t do what their parents ask them to do until they nag them. As a penance, I say, “between now and next week, as you go to bed and look over your day, you might be able to say ‘today, I did what my parents asked of me, the first time’. You can say ‘today was my penance day’ but if you have to say’ oh, no, they had to ask me twice to feed the dog’  then you start over tomorrow until you have a night that you can say ‘ that was my penance day and I did a good job of obeying’.”

Teaching the young that they have a contribution to make to the harmony of the family is one of the privledges and duties of parents.  I think the Pope was right on and I pray every day for my own family and all the families of the world that they will be happy, cared for, and holy.

After the 12:30 Mass, I looked up and my cousins, Rick and Peg Jensen were at Mass. They live in Alexandria and looked up on the parish web site and saw that I had those two Masses. Since it was already 1am in the morning, Rick said, “I think we can make the 12:30”. We had a great visit and went out to lunch together.

There is still no snow to speak of but since I cancelled out on a visit to the Rosenberger’s family party thinking the snow would be a hindrance, I think I’ll go over to the rectory, watch some TV and go to bed early. 

I think tomorrow is a holiday here but am not sure. I know I have the 11:00am Mass but I’ll have to check and see if it is the feast of St. Stephan or the feast of St. John.

Since I wrote that belated message, I have been busy again today. As we were going to bed early this morning, Fr. Jim offered to take the 7:30 Mass that I was scheduled for; I was happy to let him do so. So I slept in till 8:00am.

Then I went to my office and looked through some files to find some material. I made copies and took them with me to a 9:00am Communion call. Her name is Nancy Clarke and she is 90 years old. I went to see her after another priests from Delaware called and asked me to visit her. We had two great visits and then I couldn’t get any responses to my phone calls and messages. Yesterday, I called her and she answered and she hadn’t received any of my attempts. So I went today. On our first visit, she mentioned that she had gone to St. Cecilia’s High School and that led me to ask if she might have known Sister Victoria, CSC. Well she was thrilled “Oh yes, she was my music teacher and taught me to play the harp” So today I took her any old photo of sister in her habit from 1935 and some pictures of her at her 100th birthday in March of 2001 at St. Mary’s in Indiana. I also gave her a copy of the homily at her funeral in November of 2001. She use to run Camp St. Vincent de Paul in Annapolis where I worked in the summers when I was in the seminary.

I had the 12:30pm Mass and it was standing room. I told them I was “stealing the homily from Cardinal McCarrick” because I thought it was so wonderful. I don’t think I did justice to it, but I think they liked the message.

Then I took a nap and at 5pm, I met Fr. Trancone for dinner and we went to see the movie, “Burlesque”. It was a musical with Cher and Christina Augilar and very splashy and loud but I enjoyed it.

And now, I just finished working on my homily for tomorrow, the feast of the Holy Family, and I think I’ll go to bed. 

On the radio in the car they were calling for lots of snow tomorrow. I have the 7:30am and the 12:30pm, so I only have to walk a couple of hundred feet from the rectory over to the church. We’ll see what happens.  Merry Christmas everyone.

I do apologize for not writing yesterday but I didn’t come up to my room till about 1:30am and couldn’t think clearly.

Today was a wonderful day and the perfect completion to an Advent that was “quieting”.

The morning began at 9:00am because I got to sleep in. I came to the office around 9:30 and two people stopped by for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and that is a great way to start the day. There were lots of people here decorating and so the 11:00am was moved to the chapel.  I enjoy that because our chapel is more conducsive to intimacy. The readings brought Advent to a nice close with the prayer of Zacharia, that  reminded us that God’s plan for salvation was from the very beginning and He has been faithful to it. John will be the “prophet of the Most High”. After Mass, I heard a few more confessions and then came to my desk.

I worked on my Christmas calendars, which is a fund raiser for St. Michael’s School and something I have done for many years for my family. It took quite awhile to fill them out and on Monday, I will mail them to my family. NO ONE GETS CHRISTMAS THINGS FROM ME BEFORE CHRISTMAS. It’s a family tradition.

Then I went and took a nap. I presided at the 4pm in the gym.  There must have been nearly a thousand  in the gym (don’t share this information with anyone involved in fire protection!).  A childrens’ choir did a concert first, then Mass began and the Gospel was acted out and again with music. In my homily I asked if anyone had gone to the Mall, got in a line and sat on someone’s lap. They, of course, knew that was Santa. Then I asked if they had heard a song that someone sent me called “Where is the line to see Jesus?” I told them about it and then I said, This is the line to see Jesus. We are his brothers and sisters and that’s why we came here today, to see and hear about Jesus. One of the lines in the song is “Santa brings me presents, and Jesus came to give me life”.  What a great present that is and He gave it to us in the way he lived and acted. He loved and so we must take His gift of Love and share it with others. In stead of the Creed, I asked the Baptismal questions and they all responded, “I do”.

I invited the children to come to the altar for the narration about what Jesus did, when He gathered with His friends around a table. The kids were great. There was a little girl, who I found out later was three and she couldn’t see, so I lifted her up and held her in my arm through the Mass. At the Sign of Peace, I sent them out to their families and neighbors to share that peace. Communion needed 8 stations. It was a great way to start the Christmas season.

Then I took a nap

We had another Mass going on in the church, while we were in the gym and then we had a 6pm and an 8pm. Between them, we had a very nice meal that a parishioners has been preparing and bringing to the rectory for the last five years. It was delicious.

Around 9:30pm, Cardinal McCarrick and Fr. David, his secretary arrived. The Cardinal presided at our 10:30pm Mass. There was a choir concert at 10. The sang a beautiful Goria in Latin that I remember from early seminary days. One of the soloist was Joy Stevens, who was a high school student at St. Bernard’s when I was pastor. She has a trained voice and often cantors here. Last night was just magnigicent!!

The Cardinal had a slight case of larengitis and suffered through his homily. We didn’t suffer because it was excellent. He was in Lebanon last week and met some of the people who survived the attack on the Cathedral in Bagdad a few weeks ago where 58 people were murdered. One man he met told him that after the attack, which he survived, he explained to his three young sons that they must leave Bagdad. The boys said they didn’t want to go. They liked their school and their friends and they wanted to stay. He told them that some of their neighbors wanted to kill them unless they would change their religion. The seven year old said, ” Oh, we can’t give up our religion, we are Catholics. I guess we have to leave.”

The Cardinal said that he hoped we adults are able to demonstrate by our words and decisions that our being Catholic can so influence our young people that they too will see themselves as Catholic no matter the cost.

After Mass, He greeted everyone at the door.  Then we went to the rectory, for eggnog, and laughter. He is 80 years old and can no longer vote for the next Pope. However, he is still traveling around the world and feels called by God to do whatever he can to help Catholic Relief Services in their work.  To me, he’s still, as Catherine Doherty described a bishop, ” the father of a priest’s soul”. Being with him on Christmas was good for my soul.

I slept late today. I really enjoy waking around 7am and turning on the Today Show and falling back to sleep. I had set the alarm for 9am and it was so nice to stay under the covers for awhile longer.

I had the 11:00am Mass and the family of a former parishioners had asked to have it for their husband, father, and grandfather. Fr. John was suppose to have it but had a meeting at the pastoral center, so he asked me to do it. I’m glad I did. I met the family and they were lovely. The widow now lives up in Ocean Pines but is down to stay with her family for the holidays and was very pleased to have Robert remembered at Mass here.

The readings were about “he will be called John” and I have always enjoyed that story of Zacharias not being able to speak because he doubted. However, he was able to communicate to his wife what happened in the Holy of Holies because she knew the child was to be called John. Theirs must have been an amazing marriage for its time.

After Communion, I announced that I would be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation after Mass. About seven people came and I was glad I had to decided to do that. I almost feel quilty that I don’t have any responsibilites for getting ready for Christmas, and I can stay in “Advent” mode up till tomorrow when I have the childrens’ Mass at 4pm in the gym.

I went with Fr. Jim to pick up a prescription at the CVS and then I refilled my pill box. Have cleaned by desk and am taking my Christmas cards over to the rectory, where I will sit and read all those wonderfu letters that bring me up to date. I use to wait till January and take them on retreat but as I am not going there this January, I thought I’d use the Christmas/Holy Family Sunday to stay in the rectory and relax.

I’m off to bed because I have the 11:00am Mass again tomorrow and think I’ll make myself available for confessions.

My sister, Maggie, who loves to cook, made me a delicious breakfast this morning of eggs, bacon, and toast. I love breakfast but I usually have a bit of cereral and that’s it. Sometimes the first food I have is a sandwich around 2pm. Today was a nice change.

I had to head back up to town. On the way, I had a great phone conversation with Frances Sampogna. She and I are going to try to get down and visit the people at Madonna House next week. it was nice to talk and catch up on all her family.

I’ve been trying to straighten out my checkbook and that took much of the afternoon. I exposed the Blessed Sacrament at 3pm and then a man stopped by to go to confession for Christmas. He started off by saying that I had said at church the other day, “….I’m kind of unemployed ,so just stop by the parish center and I’d be happy to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with you”. And I am and he did.

I had the 5:30pm Mass and I preached about Hannah and her son , Samuel, which is a great story and I said it fit well with the gospel which qa the Magnificat. Both are great stories of women who talked to God and were willing to do His will. I can’t get over how this Advent has been filled with thoughts of trying to learn to do God’s will. I hope that I have been more open to His will lately and I certainly will try in 2011.

After Mass, we processed outside and a young girl lit our big tree in front of the Church. It is a huge pine tree and is filled with white lights. We then say some Christmas carols and had hot chocolate.

While I had been working at my desk before Mass, Loretta Favret,called me on the phone. She and Andy, her husband are out in Darnestown staying with their daughter, Loretta and her husband. In talking, I found that they were going to be there this evening and so I invited myself to come and spend some time with them.  Fr. John, Fr. Jim and I had dinner together and then I drove out to Darnestown. It was easier than I thought and I got there before 7:45. We had such a nice visit. they brought me up to date on their kids and their life in Delaware. And of course, there were many stories of life at St. Camillus in the 70’s. Their son, John is living out there and he joined us. It was just such a nice evening full of lots of laughter and memories. At 10, I said, “I promised myself, I wouldn’t intruded for more than a couple of hours, so I’d better be going.” Another example of the wonderful people God has sent into my life.