What Paddy Shot At

Where has the time gone? It was four days ago that last I wrote. Let me look in my appointment book and see what I’ve been doing.

Oh, yes, I went to bed Ash Wednesday very late – almost 1am! I forget why but I just was “wound up” by Lent. I had to get up early the next day and drove to Union Station to get the 8:30am train to Philly. It was delayed because of the terrential rain in the South. I couldn’t sleep on the train, so I read about 100 pages on the book on Vatican II. It is so full of information and I like his style.

When I got to Philly, Joe Stoutz met me and said “What do you want to do?” It was still raining and I said, “I’d like to go to your house and take a nap”. So I did. I slept about two hours and got up refreshed. Then we went to a movie. It was called “The Adjustment Bureau”. It was very pecuilar but I enjoyed all the movement. It starred Matt Damon and while it wasn’t the Bourne trilogy, it was fast paced!

We met John Bohrer and Terry Odien for dinner and had a great time. The food was only surpassed by the company.

I laid on the sofa to watch TV while Joe went to bed. I fell asleep and woke up around midnight. Then I went to bed. Joe lives on a very quiet street with little traffic and his guest room is in the back of the house. I didn’t hear a sound until around 8:30am. It’s like being in a cloister. I enjoyed the rest.
We met John and Frank Champlain (who had gone to Blackwood Seminary with Joe) and is a retired history teacher. He now does consulting about teaching and is a published poet and painter. We had a great time and sat in the restaurant for almost 4 hours. Then Joe and I went to visit Holy Family University, where he works and then he dropped me in the parking lot of St. Katherine of Siena (it was not raining!)
Then I met and had dinner (I’ll never lose weight, it I keep coming to Philly) with Mary Jane and Steve. I am going to witness their wedding in May, so we had lots to “catch up” on. I met them both when MJ was living with her aunt and uncle (Regina and Bill Housel) in St. Mary’s county. She was in college but did some paper work for me and the school. We had a great visit and then they took me to the local train, which took me to Amtrack and I got back to DC around 11pm. Was in bed by midnight and got to sleep in Saturday morning.
I had a baptism in Spanish at 1pm. I was more nervious about it then my first Mass. I havent’ done one in a long time. They tell me that I did OK and at least I know that Camilla is validly now a Child of God.
Then my sister, Maggie and I drove up to Gaithersburg for my cousin, Eileen’s 50th anniversary party. I was the altar boy when she and Phil Ballenger got married. Their six children gave great talks about them as parents and it was very true. They are a great couple. Eileen’s sisters, Pat and Peggy were also there. Their father, Ed was my grandfather O’Connell’s youngest brother and although my Dad was his nephew, they grew up together. Therefore his children were around the same age as my sisters and I. They had four girls and one boy and we had three girls and one boy. We spent lots of time together in the summers and when I was sent to my first parish, Eileen and Peggy and their families were there and we have stayed close. Marie couldn’t come with us because she is in North Carolina for a week of visiting her friend, Myrtle, and going to Bingo!

After the party, I returned to SBS because I had the 5:30pm Mass. It was very nice as I didn’t have to prepare a homily as we have a mission this week and the Oblate concelebrated and preached. He was very good and it turned out that he was the principal of Ireton High School in Virginia where the Jensen’s went. I recognized him from the graduations. He also volunteered to take my 12:30pm Mass on Sunday, so now I can sleep in, which I love to do. Also we lost an hour with daylight saving so I knew I would enjoy the extra hour sleep

I met with my niece, Kerri and her finance, Tim. They’re getting married in April and we had some paperwork to do.
Then I had a chance to see Jay Baughan and Eileen Lee Baughan for some laughs and to catch up. They were living in Florida but now are in Baltimore and stopped by because they were at Jay’s sister’s 50th birthday. Eileen is working with methadone people and I learned a lot about that “ministry”.

I read some more of the book and went to bed late as I knew I had a long night ahead.
I think I’ll stop now and publish this. I’ll write again Sunday night as the day should be relatively “normal”

Today has been a “full day”.
I started by coming over and helping with ashes at the 8:00am Mass. After that I left for Stone Ridge. I presided at the 9:30am Mass there. The Mass was for the middle school, which is 6th,7th, and 8th graders. They have a wonderful music ministry, made up of drums, violin, guitars, and other instruments. They play well together and added to the liturgy because the singing was very nice too. The young women read well and they were very polite in listening to the ramblings of an old priest. I was escourted around by Nora and Sophie, who were charming and patient with my slow steps. I taught Sophie’s sister last year and she was a delight as well.
One of the teachers is a parishioners and she asked if I was on the radio this morning. I said not that I know of. Then I remembered Jimmy who came to interview me. The teacher said, it was very funny”. So I went on line when I got home and listened to it. It is funny but I hope also will encourage people about Lent.
Then I helped with ashes at the 11:00am Mass and then went to the confessional in the lobby. I was there till 3:05pm between people who just stopped by and the school children. I was so glad I hadn’t taken my water pill!!!!
Then I came to the office and interviewed three confirmandi. Great as always!
Then I went up to repose the Blessed Sacrament. I was suppose to expose it at 3pm but as I was in confession, Fr. John did it. But I was on time for the reposition. Then I had the 5:30pm Mass.
Then I heard confessions till 7pm when I had the 7pm Mass and I have just returned from my last confession. It is 8:29pm. I am going home, take a nice warm shower and go to bed.
I hope your Ash Wednesday was as spirit filled as mine and I pray that you have a holy and growthful Lent.

Today has been the most interesting Mardi Gras I have had since I went to New Orleans with Frs. Trancone and Carlone and was on a float throwing beads out on Canal Street. This however, was different than that trip.
It started late as I didn’t get out of bed till 9:30 – just felt like sleeping in.
At the office today:
I met with the computer wiz and he is going to help me next Tuesday with a new set up and getting the printer to work.
I found two darling girls whom I taught last year and who came and knocked on my window and then came in for a visit.
A gentleman from radio station WMAL called and asked if he could come and talk with me about Lent; so I said, “Sure”. He came and recorded us and I guess it might play tomorrow and it was a fun conversation.
I had two more Confirmation interviews
I ate some candy that the receptionist wanted to get rid of!!

We had to move the adoration and the 5:30pm to the chapel because the church has undergone some renovations for the Latin High Mass we are having tonight. It turned out that it was standing room in the chapel because the Mass was for a special lady, Nancy, and many of her family came. The reading was Tobit, but I twisted things around to suite a family mourning a family member.
Then we had ashes for the School of Religion and then confessions. They were wonderful, mostly 7th & 8th grade came to me.

Tonight we had our Latin Mass as part of our year long celebration of our 100th anniversary. The music and singing were excellent and the priests who did the Mass really know the Latin. The sub-deacon was Fr. John Reutermann, who was a seminarian with me at Ridge four or five summers ago.
Fr. John gave a great homily on the readings which were about the Eucharist and he tied them and this Mass, done in the ritual and language that was used so many times over the last 100 years and while different – always the same!
I would say the church was about half filled and I will be most interested to get the “scoop” tomorrow. I kept reminding myself that it was “the Mass” but it didn’t engage me, I had to keep pushing myself into it. As I said the music was superb but the “priest back to you” just isn’t prayer for me.
Time to go to bed as I have a full day tomorrow.

I was surprised to see that I last wrote on Thursday; but as I looked over the last few days, I can see I have been very busy. I do apologize.
On Friday, I drove to West Virginia and had lunch with Marilyn and Frank Cavallaro, Mary Alice McGreevy, and Brian McGreevy. They are part of my “extended” family as they “adopted” me when I was a teenager. We had a great visit and caught up on all the family news.

Then I drove on to Priestfield, a retreat complex run by the Diocese of Wheeling. I have been there before and it is beautiful and restful. My TEAM members from Sothern Maryland were there as were parents of two boys I had taught at GC, a couple that I married 34 years ago, Theresa and Barry Hughes, and her parents, Anthony and Peg Sampogna, whom I hadn’t seen in awhile. There were about 30 couples and many I already knew. I didn’t give the retreat. A Franciscan from Minnesota did and he was very good. I helped with confessions. I had to leave around 8pm on Saturday because I had Masses on Sunday; but the trip back took about 2 hours and I got to bed before midnight.

I had the 10:30 and 12:30 Masses in the Church and I preached about Lent and doing something special for it. I used the gospel, which had the wonderful and fearsome line, “I did not know you”. I reminded people that Jesus knows us not because we follow all the rules but because we “do the will” of his Father – to love.
I met a woman upstairs this morning and she wanted to tell me that you and her children had a very good talk at dinner Sunday night about the homily. It made my morning.

In the afternoon Sunday, it was raining “cats and dogs” but I rode down with a couple from the parish to Annunciation for the meeting of the Catholic Historical Society. The speaker was a gentleman who has written a book about the many connections there were between Gonzaga High School (our Jesuit school in downtown Washington) and the Lincoln assasination. The headmaster of the school, a Jesuit named Fr. Wiegmann was the confessor to Mary Surratt, a Catholic and the first woman hung by a Federal court. It was very interesting.
Also I saw a lot of people I haven’t seen in awhile. Frs Bill Guerney and Paul Liston were there as was my cousin, Mary Shipley and a friend, Jean Bradly. It was nice to see them and again “Catch up”.
Afterwards, Erika and Greg Young (the couple from the parish) and I went to supper with Pat and Bill Finan, (also parishioners) at a great German restuarant. I went to bed as soon as I got home. So that’s why no messages the last two days.
Today, I slept in and came over to the office around 10:00am. I had the 11:00am Mass and spoke about Perpetua and Felicita. I remember when I first saw an icon of them and saw that Perpetua, who was the wealthy Christian, was a woman of color. Her slave, Felicita was a light skinned person, perhaps captured from Europe. Of course, it makes sense since much of Northern Africa was Christianized in the first few centuries. Felciity was baptized in prison and both of them were great models of faith and martyrdom.
I stayed in the office all afternoon and then had three confirmation interviews. It is so uplifting to hear these young people talk about the service that they did and what they learned about their faith from those experiences.
I also did some phone ministry today and had a nice talk with Ursula Lemanski, who use to work at GC. She is in a rehab hospital and I was going to go see her but we talked instead and decided I’m come to see her when she gets home. Please keep her and Marilyn Judge, another GC co worker who is also in rehab. Both live at Leisure World.

Well I’m off to the rectory and may go to bed early – although I am reading a fascinating book by O’Mally, S.J. on the Vatican Council. I just need to be re-assured every so often that it did happen!!!

I had the 8:00am Mass and talked about St. Katherine because Frs. John Bohrer and Terry Odien took me about a month ago to her shrine in Ben Salem, near Philly. I had been wanting to go for a long time. One of my parishioners’ aunt is a member of the order and I got to see her. I think she’s in her 90’s but as soon as I mentioned St. Michael’s in Ridge, she said, “That’s my parish”. I was happy to pray at the Saint’s tomb and in the chapel. I recommend a visit.
Fr. Mark Smith, pastor of St. Joseph’s in Charles county, came to take me out to lunch. I taught him at Good Counsel and it was good to spend some time together. He is only ordained about five years and he is already a pastor, so keep him and all young priest in your prayers.
I interviewed three students for Confirmation and also had a person stop by for confession. This evening I presided at a holy hour in the chapel from 9 to 10pm. It is held every Thursday before First Friday and about 25 people come. I always enjoy when it is my turn to lead it.
Tomorrow, I will go to West Virginia. I will stop and visit the Cavallaro’s and then go to Priestfield, a retreat house. My Team from Southern Maryland is coming also. I usually run into some St. Camillus people also. I will keep all of you in my prayers and I will write again on Sunday night.

It was not a terrible night. Compared to the one at St. Mary’s, where the TV was broken and the teckie made me stop reading at 9:45pm, so we could start; Gail, my caregiver, said, “No honey, I just want you to do like you normally do when you go to bed” So I got to watch “The Good Wife” and then put the sleep button for 30 minutes and then I was out before the 30 minutes.
However, my sister, Maggie, with whom I sometimes share a hotel room use to assure me that I didn’t snore – that I purrrrred! Well Gail says I snore. So it looks like I will join the growing list of CPAC people. I’ll just wait for my doctor to arrange for that.
So I was up at 6:30 and went to the cafeteria for breakfast – included in the study! and then headed home. I had the 11am Mass and then rushed over to the St. John Vianney House, where my “retired,senior priests, elderly priests” group meets on the first Wednesday of the month. It is always so nice to see Fr. Tom Kane, Fr. John Brady, Msgrs Ranieri, Bazan (oh, I just realized that Tom and John are Monsignors also. John Hurley and Bishop Olivier were there also. We laugh, catch up on the news and have a great dinner. Today we went long and broke up around 1:30pm. I came home and had another interview for Confirmation. They are such a delight! Then I went to visit a parishioner who is bed ridden and wanted a priest to stop by. We had a delilghtful visit. She is originally from Johnstown, Pa. and is 88 years young.
I will do a little more work on my Christmas letter and then head back to the rectory. It is still light out and not as breezy.

It is only 4:30pm but I am writing this early as I have the 5:30pm Mass and then I must go to Sibley, our nearby hospital, where I was in July for nine days with my pneumonia. This time I am taking part in a sleep study. I did this about four years ago and I failed but I just refused to try the machine they wanted me to use. Now, with everything else, my pulmonary doctor wanted me to do it again; so I am. I am anticipating the second worse night of my life – the first being the other test!
At least I go to it relaxed. I slept well last night and came over to the office around 11am. I had lunch with a lovely lady from the parish, who is a weekly attender at the Latin Mass at St. Mary’s in DC. We don’t agree about theological and liturgical issues but we both love the church and enjoy meeting for lunch.
I had exposition at 3pm and stayed for a visit as I am not suppose to take a nap today. I have been working on the Christmas letter and will go up to Church around 5, so that I am not out of breath for the Mass. I should come home around 8am on Wednesday and I will update you tomorrow on the night.