What Paddy Shot At

Had the 8:00am Mass and then again, a morning of phone messages and emails from people who had gotten the newsletter. I responded and even talked to a few people on the phone. Good morning.
Then I had the 11:00am Mass. The scriptures were about remembering that Jesus has given us his peace and it is our privledge and responsibility to share it with the world.
After Mass, I had my first session of “Tuesdays with Fr. Maury” since April. I had a topic but the group instead wanted to hear about the cruise. So I talked most of the hour. I do have lots of good stories.

After the meeting, I went to see a man who wanted to talk to a priest. We had a great visit and I’m sure we’ll get together again soon.
More work at my desk on the anniversary. I also talked to Dan Poje, who was wondering if I was having any kind of a celebration. I removed most of my friends who lived out of town because it is such a long trip to DC and then an extra 50 miles down to Dunkirk. If any of you didn’t get an invite, please know that it was not because I didn’t want you to come but I was thinking of you. Dan (and Stephanie) say they understand. Also during the summer, I am going to go on the road and visit old friends. THAT’S A WARNING!!!!!

Just returned from supper with Msgrs Duffy and Beattie and Fr. Paul Hill at Sergio’s. We had a great time as we always do when we’re together. So I came back to the office and wrote this and then I’m heading to the rectory and early to bed. More tomorrow.

Got up at 7am and started on my desk work. Spent most of the morning, working on the invitations and getting correct addresses. Had some wonderful email and phone calls because people had gotten the newsletter. It is so nice to be in touch again with old friends.
Had the 11am Mass. Crazy lady came in afterwards and was yelling and then went to the office and complained. She yelled at me and called me a name and I said, “And you’re an idiot”. Not very priestly. It was a bad morning.
Then I went to Jiffy Lube to have my oil changed.

I had the 5:30pm Mass and then went at 7pm to a dinner for all the RCIA people. It was very nice.
I had some more phone calls and lots of laughs and now I’m going to bed. Hope tomorrow is not another Full Moon!

I had a full day yesterday and so I went to bed early.

First, on Saturday, when I went for my ride, I stopped at Joan Beall’s and had a very nice visit with her and some of her family. It was very relaxing and I met the newest addition to the family – a combined yourkie (sp?) and Maltese named Winston. Very cute!!

Yesterdy, Sunday, I had the 10:30 Mass in the gym. The lectionary was open to the wrong year and the first two readings were wrong. When I got up to read the Gospel, I had to say, “My homily is based on a different Gospel”. So I looked for it and read the other one. People, as always were very understanding. At the 12:30, we had all the right readings and in my homily, I spoke about our Church building and how beautiful and meaningful it is that the motif that emulates from the tabernacle contnues along the walls and then goes up to the ceiling and continues to the front of the church. It is a vine with branches. The readings were about Jesus as the vine and we as the branches. It fit in very well.
At Mass were my cousins, Rick and Peg Jensen. They came to my office and we had a great visit. We also visited the hall upstairs, where there was an exhibition of art work done by men who live at The Gift of Peace, which is a home run by Mother Theresa’s sisters for AIDS patients. Some ladies from our parish have been teaching art there for a number of years and brought out some work and artist to the parish. Very nice work.

Then I drove down to Mama Lucia’s in Dunkirk. My great niece, Amada was confirmed at Jesus the Good Shepherd parish. I couldn’t make the service as it was a 2pm but I made the party. It was fun to be with Maggie’s family and afterwards I stopped at her house to visit with her and Marie. We worked on the 40th anniversary program and then I came home and was in bed by 11pm.

On Sunday, I learned that an article I had written for the newsletter got dropped out. I was moving so much stuff around that I forgot an article about Thanksgiving 2010. So here it is:

Operation “Thanksgiving at Aunt Maggie’s”

My three sisters had a great idea in 2008. They told their children to go and visit their in-laws or take vacation trips or whatever for all the holidays in 2008 and 2009; but that everyone in the family was to keep open Thanksgiving 2010 because we were all meeting at Aunt Maggie’s for a family reunion. It was a “command performance”. So the week of Thanksgiving, relatives starting showing up. Some of the cousins had their out of state cousins stay with them in their homes. That was great because then their children got to meet their cousins’ children. They went bowling and ice skating. They went sightseeing and went to an ice show. They just enjoyed each other. By Thanksgiving, no one was a stranger!! People cooked and brought food to the fire house in Dunkirk. It was the only place big enough for the 74 people to have room to eat and be entertained. Some of the aunts had activities for the children.

I wanted to be sure you all knew about that great party.

I will write something more Monday tonight.

I got up around 7 and had the 8:00am Mass. Again, a good turn out as First Saturday is also a popular devotion here.
After Mass, I came down to discover that a number of people had recieved the Christmas newsletter and had sent me an email (or a phone call) to say how surprised they were but they had already read it all. I was very pleased.
I don’t think I mentioned it in my messages from the ship but before I left, I met a number of times with Susan Cassidy, a friend from St. Michael’s. We worked on the parish newsletter together and so I asked her to help me finally get a Christmas letter out. I wrote some of the articles before I left but I also wrote while on the ship. I gave her my mailing list (700) and she worked very hard to get it published, addressed, and mailed out. I am so grateful to finally have gotten some kind of newsletter out to lots of people whom I have been intendidng to contact for a couple of years.

I spent part of the morning, re-addressing newsletter that came back to me because of out of date or incorrect addresses. Then one of my students from Good Counsel, Pat McGrath came by and we had a great visit.
Then I went and had some lunch and took a nap. (some old customs die slowly). I just finished confessions and I will help with Communion at the 5:30pm Mass. Then I think I’ll go for a ride. Come home and go to bed early. I have my homily prepared and I have the 10:30 gym Mass and the 12:30 in the church. More tomorrow.

I slept very well and got up around 9am. Came to the office and again, tried to straighten up. Had lunch with the priests and then Joan drove me to Chevy Chase House for Mass. Parking is so difficult that we’ver worked out a deal where she drops me off and comes back and picks me in about 35 minutes. We had a good crowd today, I think 16.
When I came home, I was too tired to go to the Mission Fair but I could hear them having a ball. I had exposition at 3pm (in the chapel because there was a wedding rehearsal in the church) and then we had the 5:30 Mass there also. There were about 80 people, some had to stand. It’s First Friday and that devotion is big here.

I am in my office but going over to eat and spend the night relaxing. I have the 8:00am Mass tomorrow.

When I was posting the earlier message, I noticed I hadn’t written on Wednesday. I guess I was tired that night.
On Wednesday, the feast of St. Athanasius, I had the 6:30am Mass. Then I sent a feast day email greeting to Fr. Bob Norton, who is pastor of St. Athanasius parish in Pittsburgh. Then I went to the desk to work again on mail and “stuff”.

I had the 11:00am Mass and again preached on St. A. He was one of the pioneers of the early church and one of the Doctors of the Church. After Mass, I celebrated the Sacrament of the Sick with a lady going in this week for surgery. Please keep her in your prayers.
Then I drove over to St. John Vianney House for the monthly meeting and luncheon of the retired priests. It is always so good to see the guys and I had a nice talk with Msgr. Tom Kane, who was the assistant at St. Bernard’s when I was young. He is celebrating his 60th anniversary of ordination this month.
I had to go to the Pastoral Center and get some papers signed and then I interviews 6 more First Communicants. Right after, I drove down to Maggie’s and spent some time with her and Marie. They had done so much work on my ordination anniversary plans, while I was half way around the world. They showed me a list of all those who received invitations and the responses. They are so organized. I am spoiled by all three of my sisters and their families. I got home around midnight.

This morning, Thursday the 3rd of May, I had the 8:00am Mass and then sent a birthday greeting to Sister Kass Collins. Then back to the desk and more straightening up.

At 11:15, I had an appointment with my doctor, Tiffany Lucas. She was very pleased with me since I lost two and a half pounds while on the cruise. All that walking on the biggest ship in the world!!

I had some real nice phone conversations as I tried to contact people whose address was wrong for the invitations.
Then I had my last 8 First Communicants interviews and I worked on my homily for the Holy Hour. On the Thursday before First Friday, we had exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from after the 5:30pm Mass till 9pm, when we have a Holy Hour and close with benediction. I preached on St. Philip.
I just finished and now I am heading back to the rectory. The first thing I have tomorrow is the Mass at the Nursing Home at 1:30pm, so I won’t set the alarm and let’s see how late I can sleep.

And now I think I’m up to date!!!

It is Thursday during the day and I am spending most of the afternoon in my office because I still have lots of email, voice mail, and snail to “catch up on”.

I have interviews of those who are preparing for First Communion as well; and so I decided I’d start this “update” for Paddy of the weekend in London and the trip home. I will write something else this evening about yesterday and today and that should bring us up to date!

On Friday, April 27th, we left the ship in Southampton at around 8:45am and we went through customs very easily and headed outside. There was our motor coach waiting to take us to London. It was about a two hour ride but I enjoyed just seeing the very lush fields and the quaint towns and villages. We were let off at Victoria Station and although we had a hard time finding a taxi, we finally got to our hotel. It was the Millennium Hotel, Knightsbridge. A group of us stayed there almost 10 years ago when we had a cruise to the fjords of Scandinavia that began and ended in London. Because we’d been there, we had a sense of the neighborhood. We went to a Fish and Chips place we had been to before and it was soooo good. We went to Harrods’s and did not shop!! We took the tube (the underground) to Piccadilly Circus and saw a show called “Ghost”. It was a musical of the movie with Whoopi Goldberg. The technical parts were tremendous.

Saturday, Pat went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I went for a short walk, bought some English newspapers and stayed around the room. It began to rain on April 1st and it had rained for 30 days. People were thinking of building arks. That night we went to a Italian restaurant, which we had gone to before. The food was still great!

Sunday, Pat went shopping and then we went to Evensong at Westminster Cathedral. They have a choir school there and it was beautiful (all in Latin; but still beautiful). Then there was an organ recital and then Mass. Afterwards, we walked around Westminster and had supper – Great spaghetti carbonara! We went to bed early as we had a 4am wake up call. We got a taxi to Paddington Station, where we got the Heathrow Express, a train that took us to the airport in 15 minutes. Our flight was United 929 that left at 7:25am. We flew for 8 hours (through some very rough weather) and arrived at O’Hare in Chicago at 10:15am. Pat took a train into the city and I took a cab to Midway airport, where I caught a Southwest Airline’s flight to Baltimore.

God love him, Patrick Mullan was at the baggage claim and brought me home. The pastor was at the door and welcomed me with a hug. I was very happy to be home. It was around 7:15pm and I went to my room, got ready for bed, and was asleep before Jeopardy began. I woke up around midnight, got a glass of water, and went back to sleep.

I woke up Tuesday very refreshed. Came to the center and got back to work.
I am going to leave the office now and get supper, then I will report on Wednesday and the rest of Thursday from the rectory.

It is now May 1st and I am back at Blessed Sacrament.

I have had a very nice and full day. I got out of bed at 9:00am and came to the parish center. It was so good to be back and to see everyone. I really missed the staff and the parish. I spent the morning working at my desk and plowing through a month and a half of mail. I also answered some of my 26 emails and 16 phone messages.
I had a nice lunch with Fr. Ron and caught up on the parish news. I worked some more at the desk and got together some material for a Church History presentation. I had exposition at 3pm and then till 5pm, I interviewed children preparing for their First Communion. Then I had the 5:30pm and talked with some parishioners after Mass. I went to St. Bartholomew’s parish where I gave my presentation on the Church from Constantine to Benedict XVI. – Only hit the high points!! There were 10 people there and I think they enjoyed it. I know I did. It ran from 7:30 to 9pm.
Now I am back at the desk and going to send this out. I have to go to bed now, as I have the 6:30am Mass tomorrow.

I will “report” on London and the trip home later this week.

It is now 6pm. I had the “regulars” at Mass. A number stayed to say goodbye. I really have enjoyed them. After breakfast, Pat and I tried to use the computers but the signal was weak. I tried again from the room and did get some email done.
I got my 2 suitcases packed and will put them out after supper. We went to another lecture on private yachts. There’s a lot of people with a lot of money. It was interesting. We’re going to see those singers again. They have a pre-supper show. Then we’ll have supper and end up by going to the movie, “Jane Eyre”. Tonight, we turn the clocks back so we’ll be on London’s time (6 hours before the East coast). We will get off the ship after an early breakfast and take a motor coach up to London. It will take us to the main train station and we’ll take a taxie to the Millenium hotel. I stayed there about 6 years ago. It is very convienient. We’ll stay there till Monday, when we leave at 7:15am for the U.S.

I don’t know if the hotel has wi-fi, so this might be my last message till Monday, April 30th. Till then!

The ocean has settled a little but we still have 15 foot waves and it is rocky. After my short note yesterday, it was at 10pm, I went to bed and read and fell asleep.
It is now 7:30am and I will have Mass at 8:30 so I thought I’d try to use the computer room while lots of people are still in bed. I used my Ipad last night but the signal is not as steady so that’s why the short message.

As I said, yesterday was Anzac Day,(that’s Australian, New Zealand Army Corps). It is like our memorial day. It remembered all those who died at Gallipoli, a big battle in the Crimea War. It is held yearly and so we met at 6:15am on the back deck of the ship. It was still dark and very rough but about 30 people came. There was a trumpheter and a veteran led the sevice. I read some traditional prayers and a serviceman from Canada, who is a passenger and is serving in Afganistan spoke. It was really very nice.
Since I was up, I went for a walk on the deck. Strong wind but the sea was just starting to get rough.

I just saved this – in case!

Then I did some emails and went and had Mass. Only about 15 people, even Pat slept in. Being in bed was the easiest thing to do.

I finished my book and returned it to the library. I had read 3 Clive Cussler books. He is one of my favorite fiction writers and I’ve read about 10 of them; but these three were new to me. I stayed in the library, reading makes you ignore the waves.
I went to the movie, It was Iron Lady, which I had seen but enjoyed and again, it makes you ignore the waves.
Pat and I had to pick up our passports, which the main desk had, and go through immigration. Someone from England joined us in Malaga and I think that will make our departure faster tomorrow.
I had sent some laundry out so that I can put aside some for my small suitcase and take that to London and the rest (clean) I can ship home from Southampton. It was hard to navigate with two suitcases and my oxygen container. Now I’ll only have the small suitcase and the container for the rest of the trip.
I forgot to mention that another movie we had was War Horse. It is very good and worth seeing. We also had two Woody Allen films that I thought were stupid but then I never did get his humor.
Last night at supper, the room was only half filled.

Well, I think that brings you up to date and I am off to Mass.
Oh, yesterday was the feast of St. Mark, so I remembered all the wonderful Marks that God has put in my life and asked God to bless them. Happy Feast Day!
More later today