What Paddy Shot At

Hello again, It is February 6th and I am at my desk in the Parish Center. It has been snowing since yesterday at 10:00am. It is snowing now. We have about 20 inches of snow and I think Washington, DC is at a stand still. No one has come to plow our street and our excellent facilities team has made some paths and cleans off the stairs and entrances to the church and center. I think the parking lot will have to wait.
I had the 8:00am Mass this morning and there were four people. At 11:00am there were about a dozen. Fr. John had the 5:30pm Vigil Mass and he said there were about 80 people. The TV keeps telling people to stay home and now that it is dark, I think most people will settle in. Last night I went through all my Christmas mail and put the pictures in some order to bring over here and fill my bulletin board with those wonderful reminders of family and friends.
I am heading over to the rectory where there is Lipton chicken noodle soup and Ritz crackers. I am content. We shall see what the dawn brings. I am still trying to allow comments but you can always write me at mauryoc@prodigy.net as well.
Keep warm
Love,
MO

It is now the 25th of January, the conversion of St. Paul.
I returned from Alaska on the 19th. The retreat went well and I think the 20 or so people who participated felt it was a relaxing time with the Lord. I gave five conferences and preached for three Masses. We had Adoration, Holy Hour, Rosary, and Benediction. I was available in the “off” times for confession or just to talk.
I had not realized that the retreat was adversitsed as a “silent retreat” but that was a pleasant surprise. We were silent at meals and when we were not at prayers. I went to my room early in the evening after evening prayer and opened and read all my Christmas mail. It was – as it always is – wonderful to read the yearly missive about family activities and to see pictures of children I baptized who are now in college. I enjoyed the time to visit and “catch up” and I even began my christmas letter, which I anticipate to be out before Lent.
After the retreat, I flew to Fairbanks to see what it looks like in Winter. I had been there in the summer with the group from St. Michael’s. It was very different. For one thing, in the summer the sunset was around 11:30pm because there is 17 and a half hours of daylight in the summer; the opposite is true in winter and the sunrise was at 10:43am and sunset was at 4pm. I had a nice cab drive to the places I had visited in the summer and they looked like a winter wonderland. Also, I went for a short walk and my beard froze as it was minus 21 degrees. I returned to my room, hit the pool and hot tub and retired early to watch TV. I saw, “the bucket list”, which I enjoyed greatly.
I returned to St. Mary’s for a doctor’s visit. Oh, by the way, I have lost 21 lbs since July 7, 2009 and so some nice donations will be coming to St. Michael’s school from those who took up my challenge to donate a certain amount to the school for every pound I lost.
Also, I want to share this good new that the pastor, Father Lee announced last week. The school had collected enough money for next year that the Archdiocese has allowed it to announce that it is open and accepting students for school year 2010 – 2011. Thanks to all who have made that possible.
I have been busy withfunerals both here and at St. Bernard’s. The one here was Ann Thompson, the wife of our deacon. The two from St. B’s were John “Jackie” Healey and Elizabeth “Liz” Kehoe both from long time parish families and friends of mine. It is always hard and good to come back to St. B’s and see former parishioners. It was the most fabulous parish in the Archdiocese and I feel very lucky to have grown up in that community.

Also in my haste to get out my last posting, I neglected to mention that I had rushed back from Florida by way of Philly to attend the funeral of my dear cousin, Ann O’Connell Treadway. She was the last remaining child of my great uncle Willie and his wife Josie. Willie was my grandfather O’Connell’s brother and I was very close to these cousins, Ed, Bill, Catherine, and Ann. Ann was in the hospital since November in Virginia and I had seen her a few times.  She had broken her hip and was in a lot of pain. Her nephews, the children of Catherine and Ray Jensen, gave her great comfort and care and so I ask you to remember them and their children in your prayers.

Well, I close for now. I just finished my grades for the mystudents and now we begin the third quarter. We are studying the Old Testement and are about to learn about the Kings of Isreael. This class continues to be a real joy -as does all my activities here at Blessed Sacrament.

Know that you and your needs are daily in my prayers.

Affectionately,

MO

Hello again, today is January 12th and I thought I’d bring you up to date on my travels. On January 3rd, I drove to Philly and met Joe Stoutzenberger and John Bohrer and on Monday, the 4th, we flew to Miami, Florida. We met there with Dwight Birket and Roger Menting and boarded the Carnival ship, Imagination for a cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. All of us were seminarians together in 1964 at Mt. St. Paul Seminary in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Over the last 45 years, some of us have gotten together and we keep in touch but this was an opportunity to have a mini reunion and we had a ball. We laughed so much, our stomachs hurt. Three had never been on a cruise so they didn’t want to be too far out of sight of land in case they were sick and wanted to fly home. Fortunatey, John was sick but only for a short time and once he got the “patch” he was feeling fine.
We were met in Key West by another former classmate, Paul Clayton. He treated all of us to a wonderful trip around the Key on the Conch train, where we saw Hemingway’s house, the winter White House of President Truman, and many other unique sites. It was a great visit, although I think Paul was disappointed that the weather was cool – it was in the 50’s – a rarity in those parts but as Roger had come from Wisconsin, Dwight from Kansas, and the rest of us from the freezing Mid-Atlantic states, we though it was balmy!
Cozumel was in the 90’s and even when we returned to spend an overnight in Miami, it was in the 60’s and we thought it was tropical – especially to arrive back in Philly to -5 degrees.
We also sent and received email from Steve Bleistine in New Jersey, Denis Gavigan in Grand Rapids, and Dave Haas in Detroit, Michigan, all former classmates with whom we have re-established contact recently. By the by, none of us can remember if Father Gordon’s name is his first or last name. We just called him “Fr. Gordon” or “Flash Gordon”. Does anyone out there know?

Now, after a few days at home, I leave to give a retreat in Achorage, Alaska. Please no comments! Our Savior said to his disciples, “Go now to the ends of the earth”. Some people take that as a suggestion. I have taken it as a command and so I am off to see Alaska, which I visited last summer, but need to see it in the winter. The kind lady who arranged for the retreat, asked if I would like to go anywhere else in Alaska. I said, “I had such a great time on the train trip from Fairbanks to Achorage one summer, that I’d like to see that same area in the winter, so maybe I could take the train north?” She hesitated and then said, “Monsignor, remember how you had 17 and a half hours of daylight when you were here in August? Well there will be 17 and a half hours of darkness in January. Maybe you should fly to Fairbanks.” So I am. I will be home on the 19th. I will be praying for all of you at the retreat; please keep me and the retreatents in your prayers as well.
I sure was verbose, so I will close for now.
Affectionately,
MO

Ps. I just noticed that it says you can’t make comments so I will contact the person who helped me to set this up and get that changed. I want to get your comments. mo

It is now the Feast of the Holy Innocents and I am once again determined to write something on this blog so that I can encourage people to visit it.
My first Christmas as a SP (Senior Priest) was wonderful. I was the presider at the Children’s Mass at 4pm in the gym. It was standing room only and the energy was contagious. There was three choirs of children from the school who gave a lovely concert about twenty minutes before Mass started. During the Mass, children read aloud the Christmas Gospel and other children acted the parts. There was a 2 month old boy, George who played the Christ Child. It was very touching.
In my homily, I spoke about gifts and how we all can give them whether we had money or not. I told them of a special evening during Advent when my Italian friends invited me and another priest to their house for dinner. I told them the food was delicious and as a surprise, we decorated cookies.
It seems that I have told a story (many times, I guess) about my asking my Mom when I was a seminarian if we made cookies in the old apartment on 10th Street in Washington because I had such a clear picture in my mind of doing so.
She laughed and said that once Maureen (my younger sister) was in a high chair and I standing on a chair andd we were making cookies in the “pull down” table in our small kitchen and my Grandmother stopped in.
My grandmom was a wonderful person, whom Nellie (my Godmother who lived in the apartment over her) described as “so neat, that the garbage she took out to the back fence looked more like a tossed salad”.

And she was very neat and organized; so she chided my mother for “playing” with the children when there was a sofa of clothing that needed to be ironed. My mom said, “Mother, when they are older they’ll not remember if their clothes were ironed, they’ll remember we had time to make cookies”.
So I assured my Mom that the cookie making was a memory of my childhood that often comes to mind.
Then my friends told me that I had told that story to them and that’s why we were decorating the cookies. What a wonderful gift to remember a story and then make it possible to “enter into it” again with friends. I asked the children to listen to peoples’ stories and to “gift” them by remembering.
I invited the children up to the altar and there is something special about offering Mass surrounded by little faces following every word you say and action you do. Their profound bows at the Consecration were inspiring.

As I was scheduled for Mass at 12:30pm on Christmas Day, I decided to concelebrate the Midnight Mass. Monsignor John Enzler, our pastor presided and preached. In the quiet moments and as I listend to the music, I had the opportunity to say (sotto voce) the names of so many of you, my family and friends. I lifted you up in prayer as my gift because you have been a gift to me.
I got to bed around 2am but it was a very happy SP who drifted off to sleep.

It is now New Year’s Eve and I will preside at a Holy Hour in our chapel at 9pm. Then I suppose I will go to my room and try to stay awake long enough to see the Ball come down. Just wanted to say again that I will be praying for you all during the Holy Hour and I will ask the Lord to make this coming calendar year one filled with blessings, His presence, and maybe a chance for us to get together too.

Affectionately,

MO

Hello again, I keep forgetting how to get on to this and be able to write but I have made a New Year’s resolution (Sunday being the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the Liturgical year) that I am going to write in this blog weekly. We’ll see how good my resolution is – I wrote down the way to get on line. Talk to you soon. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Fr. O, Maury

Hello everyone,
I am sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to this blog but I have changed computers and I didn’t know how to get to this site; but I just kept trying and this morning it worked.
I am going to try to use this as a means of keeping in touch with you all and letting you know about life here at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament (SBS) and events and people I am in touch with now that I am a “senior priest”. I have discovered that there is life after being a pastor.
Also the other day, I saw the Movie, “Julia and Julie”. It was delightful but it also reminded me that a blog doesn’t have to be a self centered thing that is all about one’s successes; it can also be a means of reflecting and sharing about what new things you are learning. I hope to make this blog such an experience for you and myself. I’ll be in touch.
(Since I have so many names – Father O, Uncle Maury, Maurice, Padre Mauricio, Maury and Monsignor O’Connell) I have decided just to sign off as MO

I must say that I am enjoying being a “senior priest”. My life is full of Masses, Confessions, Anointing the sick, counseling people, unpacking boxes, and meeting new people, while trying to learn how to correctly read the schedules.

I’m not sure if I’ve made any decisions but I know the only meeting I went to was a group that met to discuss their upcoming trip to Alaska with Fr. John. As I am going there myself later this week, I explained that like when the Pope is coming to visit, they send an “advance man” to check out securtity; so I am Fr. John’s advance man.
I am very happy here and the people as they always are – are great to the new priest. I am enjoying living with other priests and having time to just talk.
My sister, Marie is in Laurel hospital because of an infection in her foot. Please keep her in your prayers.

I’ll write again soon.

Hello, I think I am getting the hang of this and will try to write a real article after the weekend. M

Am settling in at SBS (Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament) and hope to do some “blogging” soon.