What Paddy Shot At

Yesterday, Tuesday got away from me. I came over to help with a funeral at 11:ooam that was for a former deacon here at Blessed Sacrament. Bishop Gonzalez, our auxilary was to be the main celebrant and Msgr. Duffy was to preache. The bishop was ill and so Msgr became the presider and there were two deacons, Fr. Brian, provincial of the Dominican, a family friend, Fr. Percy, Fr. John, Fr. Scot, director of the Deaconate program for the Archdiocese, and me. The Knights and Ladies of Malta were here as was a military presence, because he was an officer and was being buried at Arlington. It was a big event. Afterwards, Fr. Duffy joined us for lunch and that was fun. Then I took a nap and at 4pm met with Andrea, who would like to be in RCIA but works on Monday night and so I am going to meet with her and keep her up to date with the class. Then Fr. Beattie called to remind me that our support group was meeting for dinner at 5:30. I met them at the restaurant (Fr. Hill, Fr. Beattie, and Fr. Duffy – again!) Then I drove through town to say prayers at DaVol’s in Georgetown and then I did some more Suducos and fell into bed.

This morning, I had the school Mass at 9:15. We celebrated the Holy Cross feast and remembered all the sisters of the Holy Cross who have served in our parish for almost 89 years. Sister Marietta is in our school now. Mass was very nice and then I went to the “Bread, Book, and Brethern” opening session. This is a Bible study group that has been going on for over 25 years. Every week during the school year, they meet and study a book of the Bible. This year it is Wisdom. I just went to welcome them back and encourage them in this wonderful evangelization program. Oh, and I told stories and made them laugh!
Then I had the 11:00am funeral for Jack. He was the man I went to see a couple of weeks ago. He had hospice but was conscious and we had a very nice meeting. I saw twice after that as he prepared to die. He has a great wife and four good kids. The Mass today had all his family and the grandkids involved. A friend of almost 40 years spoke and was very eloquent. I especially liked how he kept coming back to Jack’s faith and the importance he place in it. I went out to Gate of Heaven for the internment and now I am getting ready for exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Afterwards, I plan to stop by and see Jack’s family at the house. Then I have the 5:30pm Mass and I think it will be early to bed for me. I think you’re up to date!

Again, two days just flew by. I can remember my Grandmother Crory saying one time that time goes by very quickly as you age; so I guess I’ve reached “aged”!!

Saturday was a very pleasant day. First, it didn’t rain! It was very humid but I was just glad to see the sun staying. I had a Baptism at 11:00am in the chapel. It was a lovely young woman, who called me months ago. She was pregnant and not married. She had contacted her parish but the priest told her, he couldn’t baptize the baby because she wasn’t active in the parish. She had been to a baptism here and asked if I would help her. I told her to come see me and we had a great visit. Her son was born in August and her parents came from Spain to be with her. She’s from a big extended family and I think there were about 60 people in the chapel. Her Mom read in Spanish and I did the actual baptism in Spanish and the blessing at the end. I’m sorry that I haven’t kept up using my Spanish but I was able to welcome her Mom and Dad. Padre Mauricio had a good time.
I wasn’t on duty but I noticed there was a message on the beeper, so I called. It was a man whose wife is dying of a brain tumor. I went to their house and anointed her and gave them Communion. She isn’t able to speak much but we had a nice visit. It turns out she had been the art teacher here at our school. Her daughter, who was a student here, then went off to Good Counsel for high school. She is now studying nursing in New Jersey.
I had confessions at 4pm and it was a steady stream. I always enjoy a crowd. I came down to the office to wait to help with Communion at the 5:30; but Fr. Percy came by and said that he’d take Communion. So I went over to the rectory, ate some dinner and went up to watch TV. I really enjoy watching Gordon Peterson’s Washington, which is a roundtable with local newsperson. I especially like Mark Shields, who is one of our ushers and has such a great wit. He is an old fashion Irish political pundint! Went to bed early.

Sunday, I helped with Communion at the 9:00am and then I concelebrated the 10:30 with Fr. Ron and Cardinal Wuerl. The Cardinal came to install Ron as pastor. I had never been to an installation and I was very impressed. The Cardinal spoke very well about the role of a pastor and at the end of Mass, said some very thoughtful comments about the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The church was filled. There was a reception afterwards and also a brunch over in the rectory but I skipped them both because I had the 12:30 Mass. A lady stopped me after the 10:30 to ask me if we had changed the readings for the anniversary. I assured her that they were the readings for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time and I said, “Often, God has a way of getting His message to us”. They were all about forgiveness. In my homily, I mentioned that there is a TV show that is being advertised as starting in late September, it is called “Revenge” and it is about a woman whose father was killed and she is out for revenge. I said it just isn’t something I want to watch. Jesus says “seven times seventy”. As he left church, Mark said to me, “I don’t know, maybe six times but more doesn’t seem Irish. We hold on to our booze and our injuries!!” He just makes my days!!!!
Sunday afternoon, I wrote a review of the book, “Mrs. Mattingly’s Miracle” for the Washington Catholic Historical Society magazine. I sent it to Joe Stoutz, my editor for him to “tweak it”. Then I drove down to Wildwood in Southern Maryland and met with some of the couples from Teams for supper. We had a nice visit. Bob and Jane could not join us but we kept them in our prayers and thoughts. We also had lots of laughs. I got home around 8pm. The editor had done a great job and so I emailed the completed review off to the magazine.

I am at my desk and have the 11:00am Mass. Then I’ll go by and visit the family of Jack Holloway, whose funeral I have on Wednesday to plan the readings. This evening I am suppose to meet Kevin Potter and his friend, Peggy for dinner here in Bethesda. I’ll stop in RCIA and meet the new people and then go to bed. I think that brings you up to date.

Don’t know where Wednesday and Thursday went. I guess it’s all the rain that threw off my sense of time.

On Wednesday, I had the 11:ooam Mass and then headed over to the St. John Vianney House for our monthy meeting and lunch for the “retired, senior priest, old guys” gathering. I got there in time for the meal and had a great time sitting with Tom Kane and Jim Beattie. I had seen both of them at the cookout but didn’t get the chance to talk with them. I always enjoy their humor and their attitudes about church matters. I think I came home and spent the rest of the day over in the rectory. I really hate walking in the rain. I worked on the computer and finished reading about Mrs. Mattingly. Fr. Paul Liston asked me to write a book review, so I started to work on that. I also got a phone call to tell me that Deacon Bob Connolly had a minor stroke. I spoke with Jane and she said he is doing better but is staying in the hospital. Please keep him and Jane in your prayers.

On Thursday, I had the 6:30am Mass. Everyone – including me – was surprised to see me. I woke up around 4am and just napped because I was so afraid that I’d oversleep. Since I was up, I went down and worked at the desk until about noon. Then I took a nap and Jerry Trancone came by at 3 and left his car. Then I drove out to Laurel and we met Glen Rosenberger at his house. We went to Olive Garden for an early supper. It was good to see Mr. R (whom we call “Father”) and catch up on him and all the family. He looks great and although he has lost some weight, he keeps busy. We all miss Mrs. R (whom we called “Mother”). They lived two doors down from me and she was the head adult advisor for the teen club at St. B’s when I was young. She also worked with Fr. T when he was the moderator. She died last year and left a large space in all our lives.
We had a good dinner ( and I ate correctly). The trip home for T and me took almost an hour. The beltway was like a parking lot because of the rain. I heard later that 10 inches of rain fell. If that were snow, it would have been 10 feet! I was glad to get home and retreat to my room. Went to bed early because I wanted to get up early (again!!) on Friday.

Today, Friday, I came over to the center around 6:50am because on the first Friday, some men of the parish come to the 6:30 Mass and then gather for a talk. The group is called “Christ in the marketplace”. The speaker today was Tim Shriver, a parishioner and the director of the Special Olmpics. He was great. I won’t do justice to the conversation but I was most impressed by one thing he said in particular. He said that every parent fears that their child will be different because society will isolate them. Yet, every child is different and we have to help the child, other children, adults, and society recognize the differences and help everyone to celebrate and support each person. He was very impressive as a man of faith. I’m so glad I got up.

At 10:00am, I had the Mass at the Methodist Home. I hadn’t been there in a couple months and it was nice to see all the people again. They were so funny because they thought I had lost a lot of weight (not a lot but I did make another hole in my belt) but they thought I was too thin!!! I love them but they’re not seeing too well! I had a good homily about St. Peter Claver and I had a good time.

I came home and ate the rest of the Jello. I need to see how many calories that is. It’s sugar free so it can’t be much. Then I took a nap. I came back to the office and then went to Chevy Chase House for Mass. I hadn’t been there either for awhile and they were glad to see me. Josephine Hillyard, who went to high school with my Mom lives there and she too noticed I’d lost weight. I enjoyed the affirmation!!!

I just looked outside and the sun is shinning. Deo Gracias!! I did some more work at the desk and lots of phone calls about upcoming Baptisms; so I think I’ll go back to the rectory, have some dinner, and work upstairs and go to bed early. These 6:00am risings are not what I like! Just got a message from Sister Kass. It’s 80 degrees and beautiful in Texas. She is up in the panhandle and not near the wildfires! I’m happy for her because she – like me – hates driving and going out in the rain! See you tomorrow.

I just wrote to Dwight to wish him a happy birthday and to tell him I offered Mass at 5:30pm for his Mom and Dad. They were great people and I am glad that I got to meet them. Both are deceased now. His Dad died after he was ordained and his Mom just died last year. I have great memories of when John Bohrer and I went out for his ordination and stayed with his parents. I also thanked God for letting me know and love Dwight. We met 48 years ago this week.

I had a great time at the cookout – and I ate correctly! I had a chance to speak to Cardinal Baum, who came in a wheelchair but is so alert and charming. I saw a lot of the guys from Southern Maryland and sat with Jerry Trancone, Roberto, and Bill Hines. It was cold and I left after dinner because I wanted to get in bed and under the quilt!

This morning I got early and drove over to St. Bernard’s for Ruby Makle’s wake. I had a chance to talk to Jim and he understood about the other funeral but I was glad I went by. She was dressed in her wedding dress, which she got for her 50th anniversary because they couldn’t afford a big wedding at the time they got married. She looked beautiful and Jim said she told them she’d be buried in it because she didn’t want anyone else to wear it. She looked liked a queen! I saw a number of the old parishioners and had a chance to talk.

Then I headed over to Riderwood for Mrs. Courtois’s wake and funeral Mass. She too looked beautiful – as she always did! She was a third degree Carmelite and wore her scapular over her clothes. Bernie, her husband wasn’t able to come to the funeral but I saw him later. They were married for 68 years. It was great to see Renee, Steve, and the boys (whom I last saw when they were teenagers). Darren sang Panis Angelicus and it was excellent. Travis gave a wonderful and moving eulogy. There was a very nice luncheon and I had a chance to speak to Gary, his wife, and his daughter, Alana; as well as Mrs. Ellen Dougherty, from St. Bernard’s and Margie, who has travelled on cruise with us. At the funeral, I saw, Don Werden’s sister and Marguerite Moore from St. Camillus. So many people from Camillus and St. Bernard’s have moved out to Riderwood.
After the luncheon, once my sisters helped me to find my car (I felt like Msgr. Eckert because I came out a different door then I had gone in to the chapel and couldn’t find (in the rain) my car or where I parked it), I drove out to the cemetery for the internment. Again, it was a driving rain, and I assured them all that Lilyan would not want us to catch colds, so our prayers were complete but not dragged out.

When I got back to the center, I dried out and then got ready for Mass. After Mass, I came home and heated up in the micro, a very nice supper of steak, wild rice and asparagus. Then I finished it off with fruit and was heading to bed, when the beeper rang. I am duty tonight. It was the family of Jack Holloway, whom I visited at his home last week. I knew he was terminal but we spoke and had two great visits. He went downhill over the weekend and so he is now at the Washington Hospital Hospice care. It is about 10 blocks away, so I went over and anoited him and visited with his wife and daughter. He is on methedone so I think he shall go peacefully tonight. Keep his family in your prayers.

I called my sisters to say good-bye because they are flying out tomorrow to Wichita for a “Red Hat Ladies'” Convention. But there was no answer at Maggie’s so I guess they went out to Bingo. I guess they weren’t as tired as they thought earlier today. Talk to you tomorrow.

I am just relaxing today. I did have the 11:00am Mass but I’ve spent the day over here in the rectory rather than in the office at the center. It closed and no one is there, so I’ve just worked here on the computer. I am going over to Little Flower around 6pm for the annual priests’ cookout. I always enjoy the chance to see the guys. I don’t think Fr. Ron or Fr. Percy is going but I hope to see Fr. Jim, Jerry Trancone, Fr. Beattie, and maybe some of my classmates. I’ll report on that tomorrow.

For today, I want to share with you the retreat that I participated in at the Dominican Retreat House in McLean. I had given a day of recollection for the Sodality at Our Lady of Grace, at Leisure World and one of the ladies asked if I would mind her giving my name to the sister at Dominican Retreat House as they are always looking for priests to help with retreats. I said, “Sure”. Sister Agnes called me last March and since we have a priest who helps on weekends, I thought Septemeber would be easy. As it turned out, with Fr. John and Fr. Jim leaving and a new pastor and a retired priest coming and me retiring; a required a little moving around to be able to go. However, I am happy I did because it was a pleasant retreat for me as well. I felt like a real priest. I was available for private conversations and heard confessions for three hours and that’s something I love. I gave three conferences – The Exodus, Jesus, The Spirit and Lectio Devina; and celebrated three Masses and preached. The sisters do the prayer services, which I attended and they were very good and very thoughtful. It was scheduled that only two of the meals would have talking but I was “forced” to be the first in line for supper on Friday. As people came to the table I welcomed them and started conversation, then all the other tables joined in and there were three meals with talking. The others had music or a talk by tape, and although I’m use to “quiet” meals, it was nice.
The ladies came from everywhere; one from Florida and one from North Carolina – they had gone “on line” and found the retreat. Many have been on this particular retreat for 4 or 5 years. Some heard about from those ladies and came for the first time. I think I will do something like this again – not right away as I was tired when I got home- but it was a good tired.

Today was a very easy but quick day for me. I was over at the office by 9am and trying to get more paperwork done. Patrick Mullen came and helped me with my computer. Last year, when we working on the reunion for Riverdale, he helped me to get a copy of each email that Marie got. It worked very well because it helped us to get information and plans organized for the reunion. I’ve been wanting to get that process changed but couldn’t remember how we did. In just a few moments, he was able to get us into Marie’s mail and change the forward command. When I got into her mail, I realized that Marie hadn’t been “on line” for a long time. She had over 700 emails. So I started deleting those I knew she couldn’t care about. There are now 48 so she can go in and look at those herself. She’ll be a Maggie’s next week and we’ll try to re-educate her on how to go on line.

Kind of around my deleting things, I had the 11am Mass, I met with a couple whom I am marrying next week, I took Communion to the very nice man I met the other day, and then I met Marie in Queenstown for lunch and explained about the computer. She was busy herself all morning going to Trinity college and getting names of Sisters of Notre Dame who taught at St. Martin’s. She also went down to the rectory at St. Martin’s. She has been working on a reunion at St. Matin’s for September 18th. She is very good at callling people and getting new addresses and connecting with people. God love her.
So after lunch, I came home and worked again on the computer. Went to supper with Frs. Ron & Percy. And have been playing here on my computer in my room on genealogy.
I am giving a retreat this weekend over in Virginia at the Dominican retreat house. It is for women and my first experience of giving a weekend retreat to women. So please keep me and the ladies in your prayers. I won’t have my computer and on Friday I will concelebrate the opening Mass for school and then go to hear confessions at Knollwood and then head out to Virginia. So you probably won’t hear from me till Sunday or Monday. Have a great weekend.