What Paddy Shot At

Today went by very quickly. I had the 8:00am Mass and then I called my friend Gerry Hudder in Arkansas. His daughter called me last night and he is in a VA hospital and very seriously ill. We had a great talk and I ask you all to keep him and his two daughters and their families in your prayer.
Then I went and got my hair trimmed – only wanted the sides and the back. I went to White Flint Mall and it wasn’t the same as going to the barber!
I went to see Marie Wallace again. I got there before her therapy and so we had time for a nice visit. She is improving but I think she thinks she should be farther along. It takes time.
We have a custom of having lunch together with the staff on Wednesday, so I got a chance to catch up with people and what they did over the summer.
I went back to the center rather than take a nap as I had benediction at 3pm. So I talked with Renee and I will be preaching at her mom’s funeral on Tuesday at Riderwood.

I also learned that Ruby Makle, a wonderful parishioner from St. Bernard’s died this morning. Please keep her, Jim, and all their family in your prayers. She was from southern Maryland and made the most delicious and moist Red Velvet cake I have ever had. She use to send it down to the rectory and I often had to tell her when I saw her at church on the weekend, that Monsignor Dade and I had finished it off.
At the 5:30 Mass I mentioned to a parishioner that I was thinking of going to see “The Debt” at the Avalon, our local theatre. He said he and wife were planning to go also. So we met there and sat together. Afterward, we and an couple from the parish had a short discussion about the film outside on the pavement. I enjoyed both the movie and the discussion.
And now I’m going to bed.

Today I slept in because I stayed up late last night working on genealogy. I came over for the 11:00am Mass and then came down to the office and continued to file papers and throw away stuff. I also decided to clean up my emails. I had 1300 in my personal account (mauryfr@yahoo.com) and 450 in my parish account (moconnell@blessedsacramentdc.org). Now I have 49 in the parish and 600 in Yahoo. I feel much better.
I had a late lunch as I knew that I had a 5:45 appointment and have been working at my desk since. I also brought a lot of my dvds and cds over to the office so that I could decide which ones to give (with books) to the Library Fair in October. I also put together a photo collage that Marie gave me of all the family at the Thanksgiving celebration. I will have it hung (I’m not good at that myself) in my office here.

I think I’ll head back to the rectory as Wednesday I have the 8:00am Mass and the 5:30pm. Wednesday is the pastor’s day off and so I have two Masses that day. I don’t mind that at all as it will keep me busy all day and I’ll do some visiting during the day.

To bring you up to date:
Yesterday, I did get to Pat Lee’s memorial service. I was about 10 minutes late because I had the 10:30 Mass and although I preached briefly, the church was packed because we haven’t begun our other 10:30 Mass in the gym. Communion took a long time and I didn’t get out of the drive way till 11:25. Although I missed the beginning, the cantor was a wonderful speaker and spoke so knowingly of Pat. Then two of his sons, who were about 4 or 5 years old when last I saw them, gave excellent and very personal talks about their dad and their mom. I saw Doug, Eileen and Jay, and Mary Ellen and got a chance to visit with them afterwards. I also spoke with Diane, Pat’s wife. She was so pleased that I got there. I said, “Miss Uncle Pat’s service, never”. She looks great and hasn’t changed at all. There must have been over a hundred people there. There was food, but I drank water.
When I got home, I had lunch and then worked on genealogy. At 6:30, I drove over to DeVol’s funeral home for prayers for Col. Donald Eirich, the family I met with the other day. I think the service went well and I met J.J. McGarrigy, the widow’s brother. He was a young priest when I was in high school and was a cousin of one of my classmates, Loretta Jansen. He was a great guy – and still is – He left during the Humane Vitae controversy. Msgr. Dad liked him very much. We had a nice talk about people we knew. His uncle was Judge McGarrigy, for whom my Dad served as his baliff at the time of my Dad’s death. I remember the judge coming to Dad’s wake.

This morning I was up by 5am and went over to the center to work on some papers for a retreat I was giving to the faculty of Our Lady of Victory school. It was being held in Virginia and I needed to rearrange the schedule because we were starting at 8:30am and I had the funeral at 11:00am. They were very accomodating and from 10:10 to 11:10 spent an hour before the Blessed Sacrament saying (oh they decided to sing) a litany and then reflect on some questions I gave them and then they discussed their responses. Then they had lunch and I was back by 1:00pm. We had a third session and then celebrated Mass. I closed by giving them copies of Archbishop Oscar Romeo’s prayer. It seemed perfect and they and I (and the family and friends at the funeral) all were happy. I planned to relax but a very nice man from the parish stopped in and asked if I would be able to go and see a neighbor who is in hospice at his home. He even offered to drive me, so of course, I went. Please keep Jack in your prayers. We celebrated the Anointing of the sick and had a nice long talk. I’ll take him Communion on Thursday.
I had a message on my phone from Renee Courtois Brodeur to let me know about the arrangement for her Mom’s funeral. It is next Tuesday at Riderwood Chapel and I called her and left a message that I would be there to concelebrate. The Courtois’s lived across the street from us on 62nd Ave. Renee and I were classmates at St. Bernard’s and have stayed friends all these years. She and her busband, Steve, live in New Mexico.
Since I have the 11am Mass tomorrow, I think I’ll go to bed early and not set the alarm. I love what Mort use to call “natural rising”. Good night.

It is actually Saturday night but I just finished presiding at the Vigil Mass, so I thought I’d write also I don’t know if I’ll have electricity later.

I had two lovely baptisms at noon today. Dylan Anthony and Lorenzo James. I just enjoy doing baptisms. After I came down stairs, a person had called and wondered if I could give “last rites” to a friend. He wanted me to come tomorrow between 8 and 9am, I suggested that it might be bad weather tomorrow, so how about my coming then. I did, she was semi- consciencious but we talked and I gave her the Sacrament of the Sick. She is almost bronze because of kidney faillure. Her name is Nancy. Please keep her in your prayers. I also know of a man named Gary, who is also seriously ill, please keep him and his family in your prayers.

When I got home, there was a man who wanted to go to confession and was not sure he should come back in the evening. So I did that – and told him, he should go home and stay there.

Then I spent all afternoon, throwing out magazines and straightening up my bookcase. I also cleaned off the window sills and the room really looks good. Can’t wait to have JoEddie, who cleans here, see it!
There weren’t too many people at the evening Mass and it is beginning to rain harder, so I am off to the rectory (to find some candles) and I hope I don’t lose power.
Tomorrow, I have the 10:30am Mass and then hope to get to Pat Lee’s memorial service. We’ll see how the weather is. Good night. Stay safe and dry.

I got up early this morning because I wanted to find the Hebrew Home and Rehabilitation Center that Marie Wallace is in. I had some diffiulties because it is on Montrose Road and that street has had a lot of constuction and change. Twice before I thought I was on it and I ended up in a parking lot. So it took me longer than I planned. I had a nice visit with Marie and brought her the Eucharist. She had to go to therapy and so I told her I’d be back after the weekend.

When I got back to the center, I was three minutes late for the 11am Mass. Fr. Ron took it for me and I took the 5:30 for him. Renee Courtois called me to tell me that her Mom, had died this morning. Please keep her, her Dad, and all her family in your prayers.

I then met with a lady from the parish who is undergoing treatment for cancer. She is doing very well and keeps on going. When she left a family came to see me whose husband and father died last night. We will have the funeral on Monday. Also I got an email from Eileen Lee Baughan that “uncle Pat” Lee, Mickey brother died and there will be a service on Sunday. I hope to make it.

Evrything seems to depend on Irene, our hurrican who is travelling up the coast and should bring us lots of wind and rain over the weekend. We’ll see!!

I have a baptism tomorrow at noon and then the 5:30pm Mass. On Sunday, I have the 10:30am Mass and will go to the funeral home at 7pm to say prayers. Otherwise and around these things, I plan to “hunker down” and stay in the rectory. I think I won’t write till Monday. Stay dry and safe!!

It is hard to believe but today is the 48th anniversary of my Dad’s death. He was on vacation with Mom, Maggie, and Maureen and died in a restaurant in Passagoula, Mississippi. He was 48 years old. RIP

I had the 8:00am Mass this morning and prayed for my family. The first reading was Paul to the Thessalonians and he spoke of how their faith and love sustained him. I relected on how family (blood and/or faith) do sustain us and I asked the parishioners to pray for all those who have done that for us in our lives.

I then went over to Sibley hospital to see how Theresa came through her surgery. She was much more aware of things and said now I had to pray that they would let her go home. I tried to call Nancy, another of my Communion calls but there was no answer so I left a message. When I got back to the center, I tried to contact Gerry Hudder and see how he is doing with his cancer treatment. Again, no answer. I called his daughter, Jennifer, who lives in Manassas but is a teacher, so I left her a message also. It rained on and off all day, so I made a number of phone calls and sent a lot of emails. I just learned that Marie Wallace, a St. Camillus friend is in a rehab nearby so I’ll stop to see her tomorrow. I have the 11am Mass tomorrow and again, I’ll try to get some visits in between the rain storms from the West and the start of the hurrican from the East.

I’ll spend the evening here at the rectory – do some reading, work on genealogy, and watch some TV and go to bed early. Until the ‘morrow

I went to bed early last night and so I woke up around 7am. I had a structered meal and then went over to the office. I worked on “desk stuff” till the 11:00am Mass. I prayed for all the people associated with St. Bartholomew (Jim Beattie, Joe Sileo, John Enzler, and Mike Roach). The Gospel was about his call and so I talked about what a dirty, backwater place, Nazareth was and so he was right to say “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” However, after Pentecost, he went to a distant land and shared the Good News and was tortured and put to death for the one who came from Nazareth.

It is a custom to have lunch over in the rectory with some of the staff from the offices. I joined them today and ate correctly. Then I went back to the office and spent a lot of time on phone conversations. I got some more papers filed and then I had Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 3pm. I spent some time just meditating up in the church. I did some more paper work and sent out a list of the 27 people who are going on our cruise out of Baltimore in November. I went upstairs a little early to once again pray before I reposed the Blessed Sacrament and had the 5:30pm Mass. I used the same homily and the new group didn’t seem to mind. I spoke with a number of people whom I haven’t seen for the last few weeks. Then I went to DeCarlo’s and met Jim Beattie for dinner. I had gone on lline and looked up the menu there and had settled on salmon and spinach and it was a good structured meal. A good friend, who had sent me a birthday greeting yesterday, Madeline Ortman, was there and came over to check that I was staying structured. She admitted that she didn’t know what that meant but she had read my blog! It was great to see her and she is looking forward to my 2008-2010 Christmas missive!

Since dinner finished before 7:40pm, I decided to try to stop in to The Improve on Connetticut Ave downtown. My great nephew, Ryan Walburn was joining other amateurs and some of the family was going. I didn’t think I’d be able to but I did and it was entertaining. It was like the show that Drew does on TV, where the audience suggest some event or idea and they have to “go with it”. It was wild and sometimes very funny. Marie and Maggie made it, so I was glad I could stop by. I only spent an hour because Senior priest go to bed around 10pm when they have the 8:00am Mass the next day – like I do. So good night.

Today is also the 38th anniversary of my 29th birthday and what a day I have had.

I came over to the office around 8:30am after eating a “strucutred” breakfast to find enumerable greetings posted to my wall on Facebook. Some of you may know that I only joined Facebook because a number of my great nieces and nephews were on it and they told my sisters (their grandmothers) that I was rejecting them. Since I love them greatly, I decided to join and use it. I don’t do it very often; but I have enjoyed all the nice greetings. I shall have to write something later on the wall myself – if I can figure out how to do that. They were all very sweet but one made me and others laugh a lot. She wrote: Happy birthday, Fr. O. I knew you were powerful but an earthquake!! (In case you didn’t know, an earthquake hit Virginia around 2:20pm today and it was felt up and down the East Coast. Fortunately, no one seems to have injured but it gave a lot of peole pause! I was taking my nap and the whole room and the bed shook. As I often comment that I could sleep through the Second Coming, I think I shall revise that. It was reallly something and now I am more convinced than ever, I do not wish to live in California.

I also had many nice emails from friends all over the country. Some lovely email cards that are delightful to watch develope. And many phone calls and a chance to speak with some great friends. Sometimes, I was out of the office, and they left cute and kind messages. One of them, Mrs. Moorman from Queen of Peace sang for me. She was in the choir there and her voice is still lovely.

With the mail, came many thoughtful and in some cases funny cards and messages. I opened them all today (I am ne for putting mail aside and never getting to it BUT no more!). Then this afternoon, I got a lovely and colorful floral arrangement, that is sitting on my desk and brightening the whole room. That was from Dan and Stephanie Poje in Memphis.

I had the 11:00am Mass and offered it for my parents who gave me life and faith. After Mass, I had lunch and then took a nap. I was awaken by the violent shaking of my bed and my room. It only took a few seconds but I knew it was not a truck going by. I turned on the news and after about ten minutes, it was on every channel. There had been an earthquake in southwest Virginia that was felt up and down the coast. I mentioned that earlier but it has been the news all day.
Fr. Jim Beattie came and picked me at 6pm and we went over to St. Gabriel’s church for the wake for Fr. Pat McCaffery, who died Saturday. The funeral is tomorrow but we have a custom of having an evening Mass at the time of the wake. It is very convienent and about twenty priests were there. I have the 11:00am Mass tomorrow and wouldn’t have been able to go to his funeral. Fr. Beattie preached and he was very good. Pat was part of his gulf gang on Tuesday for the last 30 years. He was also a member of the priests’ support group that I joined when I was pastor of St. Bernard’s. He was especially kind to the poor and will be missed. He had altzeimers for the last 4 years and he is now at peace.

I am stopping in the office before I go to bed and I’m glad I did because Terry, John, and Joe called me. They had been together for supper and had wanted me to come up and join them but I couldn’t because of the wake. We always get together in the late summer for suppers to celebrate our birthdays in August, Septemeber, and October. We’ll have to do it next month.
Lord, thank you for this day so filled with happiness, memories, and family and friends. May my life and words always express my gratitude for these blessings. Amen

In preparing a homily for the 5:30pm today; I learned that while this feast was added to the Church calendar by Pope Pius XII in 1954, Mary as Queen was celebrated from almost apostolic times. As Mary is the mother of Jesus and He is our King, she is a Queen. In biblical times, the mother of the king had great authority and influence, so of course, we see those gentle qualities in Mary.

Marie, Maggie and I had breakfast at S.H. on Sunday morning and then headed to Immaculate Conception church for the 9:30am Mass. We sat with the Fitzpatricks and their children and grandson. Father Larry was the presider and gave a great homily. He also baptized two little girls and the ceremony was a nice addition to the Mass. One thing he did, which I had never seen, was to have the all the children come up and sign the two girls with the sign of the cross on their foreheads. The children were delightful and the little girls enjoyed each blessing.

After Mass, we said goodbye to the family and headed home. We left around 11:30. It was a beautiful day and except for two slow downs, we made great time. We stopped and ate (a structed meal that we had brought with us) and still we back at SBS by 4pm. The girls went home and I unpacked, which took awhile. I ate some fish for supper and went to bed early.

This morning I went over to the hospital and anointed a lady I know from Knollwood, who fell and broke her hip. She is having surgery later today. Then I went to the Newman Book store and got some information for a book I am thinking about that could be used for a nine week course on Church History. Then I went over to the Shrine and visited with Robin Pajak, school secretary from St. Michael’s. She brought me some flyers and tickets for a fundraiser that the school is having on October 1st. I am hoping that some people here might want to support the school.

I had a nice surprise in that Kevin Potter, a friend from St. Mary’s days called me. He is living in Virginia now and we had a great talk and made plans to get together in September. Fr. John Bohrer also called to wish me a happy vigil to my birthday. I am going to call him this evening and catch up.

I went to the grocery store and bought some foods that I will use for the next few days till Humberto, our cook, and I have a better chance to talk and figure out what I need him to prepare for meals. He was most agreeable when we talked. Today, I used my food and kept structured – my only exercise was walking but I have the info about the pool and the senior program. I think I’ll send this off now.

I have some time this morning after breakfast and before the pool at 10:00am, so I thought I would try again. What ever I get finished, I will not save as draft but will publish since I don’t seem to know how to add stuff to a draft and may lose it too.

Yesterday was a full day and Maggie and I went to lots of classes and used the pool twice. One of the best classes was on “on line” programs that can help you with information and record keeping. I may try it when I get home.

We stayed in Friday night and even started packing up.

Today – first of all – is the feast of my home parish. I won’t have a chance for Mass today but in my prayers, I’ll be remembering all those special people I have known and do know who are part of that great community.

I am doing laundry, so I don’t have to take home dirty laundry. At ten, Maggie and I will go up to the pool and then head over to Eastern North Carolina. Two Sunday ago, we dropped Marie off at Myrtle’s house on the way to S.H. Myrtle ended up not feeling too well and so Marie ended up staying at the house except for occasional trips to BINGO. So Maggie and I thought we’d pick her up on Saturday, when life is quiet here, and bring her here to spend the night. We will take lunch with us and on the way back, the three of us will go to a restaurant and see how Maggie and I do keeping structed.

We’ll all have breakfast here tomorrow and then go to Mass. We will pack up before we go to church and just start back to DC. Marie’s car is at SBS and so they’ll head down to Maggie’s and I will go to my office and look at mail. I may have time to write something Sunday night. Till then, happy St. Bernard’s Day.