Riding Shotgun VI

This week we shall pray for my brother, Fr. Denis Donahue, who was ordained to the priesthood on May 19, 1990.

He is a good brother and a good priest.  Like all priests, he needs our prayers and sacrifices to help him in his vocation.

Adopt A Religious, Revisited

A friend of mine sent me a message a while back, requesting that I change his status in the 'ADOPT A RELIGIOUS' part of the sidebar. I made the change - finally - tonight. No longer will you find 'Chris' on the list, because he is now Brother Francis, OSB.

Congratulations and God bless you, Brother Francis. You are in our prayers.

Now I ask all of you to think of any religious you know who would benefit by being included in this list. If you wish to add them, please go to THIS LINK and add the name.

Brother Francis did send us some pictures from Italy; he is in a monastery in Norcia. The following are some scenes of the beautiful countryside:





Beautiful.

This last picture below was sent to us on St. Valentine's Day. Below is a relic of St. Valentine. It reminded me of the ending of Walter Miller's book, A Canticle for Liebowitz, where the abbot, as he lay dying, notices an old skull lying near him. The skull had been pierced by an arrow; the remains of the shaft are still present in the hole between the eye sockets. The abbot considers the suffering which that monk from long ago must have endured. In the same way, we can look at St. Valentine's skull and consider his dedication to Our Lord.

Living Without the Cross

Mr. Moose makes a rare appearance in this photo:



Two years ago we learned that the 'next year's model' Noisykid had died in utero at 11 weeks gestation.

This child would have been born around the time that Theodore died.

We named her Therese Mary Catherine.

Today I was reminded of this when we saw an autistic child in a restaurant, and my wife reminded me of something which our Priest said shortly after Theodore's death.

"The only thing harder than living with the Cross is not living with it."

We thank God for all of our children; those who live and for those who have died.

On a lighter note, here is the youngest, Bernard, sporting some cool shades:

Sunday the Queen Returns

Our Lady of the Mysterious Decapitation needs a fresh coat of paint:


She returns this evening....

My confessor remarked that all children are a cross to their parents, but that it was through the cross that we obtain our salvation. Food for thought at the beginning of another week.

My confessor also reminded me that there are only three reasons to do anything:

1. For the greater glory of God(AMDG, or Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam),
2. For the conversion of sinners, and
3. For the intentions of the immaculate heart of Mary.

After Mass, Father anointed a woman who was ill, and it brought back memories of him anointing Theodore. I thanked him later for all that he has done for our family; giving Theodore the anointing of the sick was just one way we were blessed.

When we got home, I read a book to one of the kids while the others played baseball on the newly mowed back yard. After reading a children's book from John Deere, I got back into Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I was getting to the end, where the climactic battle between the evil empire and the cute and cuddly furry forest people starts. Suddenly the kids called me outside; I figured someone broke a leg. Instead, they showed me an aircraft carrying the space shuttle that was circling over Dallas. I pulled out my iPhone to videotape it, but realized I had not started the 'video' function. You will have to trust me that it happened. I think it might be good to skip mentioning that I saw Bigfoot and the Yeti at the controls of the aircraft.

I went back inside, only to be called out again to examine a snake. It appeared harmless, and wasn't even exciting to our sole remaining cat. I tried to get some action shots, but the snake just wanted to play dead. I threw it into the garden so it could go on with its quiet country life.

Here the cat - 'Skinny' - looks at the poor little snake.
Here I am holding the snake for a close-up. It was not a lively snake. Last night we watched 'Swiss Family Robinson' and apparently the fight with snake mainly consisted of trying to get the snake to stay with the actors.


After reading a little, I took a couple of air rifles outside to shoot for a while. I made some videos of the little boys shooting, but I accidentally covered the microphone. Here is the one of me shooting an RWS Diana 300R, which is an underlever air rifle which can shoot seven pellets in rapid succession without having to reload.

Enjoy:

A Visit to the Monastery

This is the monastery, with one part of the residence completed. The lean-to sheds are surrounding the cloister, or open square which will eventually be surrounded by buildings on all four sides. The crypt chapel is the concrete structure to the right, and it will be the foundation for the church.
Here is a better view of the crypt chapel.
Below are three views of the guest house where we stayed. It is a really cool log cabin house!


After taking these pictures with my cell phone camera, I put it away, since there was no signal out that neck of the woods. So I did not take any pictures of the work, nor did I take a picture of the stream I forded in the 2006 Ford Explorer.


I took two of the Noisykids to a working retreat at Our Lady of the Annunciation Monastery at Clear Creek in Oklahoma. Check out their website for a lot of great pictures of the monastery and their property.

We went there last year, as described here in this blog entry. This year, to the disappointment of the boys (and I suspect most of the dads) we did NOT get to clear brush and set it on fire. Instead, we spent the weekend laying electrical wire around what would become pastures for goats or cattle.

I asked one of the brothers for advice to tell my sons if they were considering the religious life. After a few moments, he said, PRAY, THINK ABOUT IT, and LEARN TO RIDE A BICYCLE. Hmmm.

I try to work as long as there is sunlight, but after sunset I tried to get some spiritual time in before collapsing in bed. I went to confession, perused the book store in the Gate House, and got to eat dinner with the monks on Friday night. If you want to read the long version of how meals are served, take a look at the book called The Rule of St. Benedict.

My version of dinner follows: First, the Prior(Head of the Monastery) meets the guests at the door of the refectory(dining room) and washes the hands of the guests. This is a cursory, ceremonial washing, so it behooves the pilgrim to clean under his nails before presenting himself for dinner.

By the way, only men and boys can eat with the monks, as this is an area restricted to men only.

After saying grace, a section of the Rule of St. Benedict is read aloud by a monk who chants throughout the meal. During the meal, the reader chanted the text of one of Pope Benedict XVI's recent audiences. After sitting, food is served to the guests. A word to the wise: eat fast and eat heartily, for an empty plate is whisked away as fast as it is emptied.

The meal started with a soup, and I followed the example I saw last year, where the pilgrim sitting across from me broke pieces of his slice of homemade bread into the soup in order to expedite the consumption of said soup. All of the food was delicious.

After the soup, we were served an omelet, which was a bit too salty for my taste - but then again, I am trying to avoid a lot of salty foods.

Rice pudding followed, and I thought that I should send my wife's recipe for rice pudding to the good monks. I am not a fan of rice pudding, but I do know that no one makes rice pudding like my wife's rice pudding.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed one of the monks set a plate of some dark things next to my plate. I expected them to be dates, which we had last year with the rice pudding. Instead the plate was filled with knockoff Oreo cookies. I skipped them.

I did drink the lemonade they had at the table rather than the water.

I went to Low Mass Saturday and Sunday morning, and Compline (night prayers) each night. Sitting in the crypt chapel, listening to the monks chant the psalms, gave me a tremendous sense of wonder and joy, realizing that regardless of what is happening in the world, be it death, sorrow, joy, or pain, these monks are there every day praying for our souls.

Advent Week One: Friday

At the end of the week, we shall spend a moment contemplating the concept of the 'Little Drummer Boy.'

This musical thorn(below the poem) generates more questions along the line of 'What were they thinking?' than anything else.

But first, I bring you one of my favorite poems from a priest who wrote extensively; one of his greatest works is his work where he discusses his conversion to the Faith. This poem, Lead Kindly Light, is one my confessor introduced to me. It talks about asking God to show one the 'next step' to take when one is lost. We might not know all the steps we have to take as we make our way through this life, but it is enough to know what one is to do right now.

Lead, Kindly Light

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead thou me on.
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those Angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

J.H. Newman

Newman comes from the same land as one of these singers; perhaps this singer will one day change his wild ways and enter the Church as well. Perhaps he could put the second verse of poem to music.

But I digress. Back to a meditation on the Little Drummer Boy

Another Priest Gone

On Easter Sunday, Fr. Mary Philip Wurth, OCD, died.

We knew him from our time in San Antonio, Texas, where Fr. Mary Philip was at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine and Basilica.

He was a good priest, a good confessor, and gave great homilies. He had a condition which caused his neck to be bent all the time - ankylosing spondylitis is my guess - but it did not keep him from fulfilling his duties. I think the picture above is him washing feet on some Holy Thursday long ago.

The past few years he was confined to a wheelchair. That is where he was the last time we saw him. He used to be in charge of cleaning up garbage around the Basilica, and used to use a weed-eater expertly, but all that work is ended for him.

Please pray for the repose of this good priest.

A Weekend of Sorrow and Blessing

Father James Downey, O.S.B., died January 29, 2008 at St. Benedict's Abbey, Atchison, KS.

We decided at about 1230 last Thursday that we should take a road trip to the funeral Mass on Saturday. So we took the youngest 8 children with us and spent the weekend on a pilgrimage, praying for the repose of the soul of Fr. James.

Please pray for him.

While up there, our nephew/godson's wife had a miscarriage very early on in her pregnancy. Nephew's family was even closer to Fr. Downey than we were, and so I am sure it was a double blow for Nephew and his lovely wife.

I have a dream, and it is only that, that somewhere in Heaven Fr. James is sitting in a rocking chair, smoking a pipe, and holding this little child of Nephew's.

It's only a dream, and I insist on repeating that you all pray for him.

May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace.

I shall put up a picture of Fr. Downey once I figure out what's wrong with the scanner....

I shall explain the 'blessing' part later.