How to Get 15 Jesuits into a Room
... Have a 150th Anniversary celebration at the local Jesuit church.
I did attend the Mass at St. Al's today. It was long. As usual, the exceptional choir kept it from being boring or dragging. The RC Archbishop of Washington preached. His preaching was sincere, but long, and it wandered quite a bit and didn't provide much spiritual sustenance. I wonder how they teach 'em to preach in Catholic seminaries. Jesuits are sometimes OK preachers - but not always. Fr. Deacon (my foster dad) is always an exceptional preacher. He gives a very limited but nourishing diet of "here's how you love one another." You can hardly go wrong with that recipe. He loves to have you turn to the person next to you and say, "Friend! Oh, Friend! I love you, and..." (fill in the blanks depending on the gospel: "I'll always offer you a helping hand," "Jesus and I love you in spite of," etc.). This sermon was a History of Catholicism in North America and Washington, DC, plus a lot of "the earliest Church was Catholic" and "isn't it great to be Catholic," which I found particularly amusing in light of the fact that a lot of non-Catholics go to St. Al's. It's a very good parish community, though I doubt Pope B. would think so.
I am always interested in listening to a new person preach. Sometimes you just can't hear something when it's expressed in a certain way, and you need to hear it again from someone new. We have three priests who regularly preach at St. Nicholas, and each of them has his own particular style.
Church is soothing to me. M. Charlotte and I were talking about this last week. She said that sometimes she goes into church wondering why she even bothered to come at all - especially after she and her husband (who is a very good preacher, by the way) have had a fight. We talked about the relief one can get from the liturgy when one is unhappy, angry, or stressed. When I am happy and in a good mood, church makes me happier. This is why papertigers encourages me to go, especially when I'm not feeling like going because I'm unhappy or in trouble. She knows that I am better for it.
That was today's main event. Millions of blessings on my parents and grandmother for enabling us to buy groceries this week. Hooray gift cards!
I did attend the Mass at St. Al's today. It was long. As usual, the exceptional choir kept it from being boring or dragging. The RC Archbishop of Washington preached. His preaching was sincere, but long, and it wandered quite a bit and didn't provide much spiritual sustenance. I wonder how they teach 'em to preach in Catholic seminaries. Jesuits are sometimes OK preachers - but not always. Fr. Deacon (my foster dad) is always an exceptional preacher. He gives a very limited but nourishing diet of "here's how you love one another." You can hardly go wrong with that recipe. He loves to have you turn to the person next to you and say, "Friend! Oh, Friend! I love you, and..." (fill in the blanks depending on the gospel: "I'll always offer you a helping hand," "Jesus and I love you in spite of," etc.). This sermon was a History of Catholicism in North America and Washington, DC, plus a lot of "the earliest Church was Catholic" and "isn't it great to be Catholic," which I found particularly amusing in light of the fact that a lot of non-Catholics go to St. Al's. It's a very good parish community, though I doubt Pope B. would think so.
I am always interested in listening to a new person preach. Sometimes you just can't hear something when it's expressed in a certain way, and you need to hear it again from someone new. We have three priests who regularly preach at St. Nicholas, and each of them has his own particular style.
Church is soothing to me. M. Charlotte and I were talking about this last week. She said that sometimes she goes into church wondering why she even bothered to come at all - especially after she and her husband (who is a very good preacher, by the way) have had a fight. We talked about the relief one can get from the liturgy when one is unhappy, angry, or stressed. When I am happy and in a good mood, church makes me happier. This is why papertigers encourages me to go, especially when I'm not feeling like going because I'm unhappy or in trouble. She knows that I am better for it.
That was today's main event. Millions of blessings on my parents and grandmother for enabling us to buy groceries this week. Hooray gift cards!