Mass celebrated Sunday by Cardinal Arinze

Here is the wonderful Mass celebrated by His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Arinze.

Floating on Cloud Nine

Yesterday, Sunday, July 23, 2006 the Diocese of Charleston was blessed with the presence of Francis Cardinal Arinze the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Roman Curia. After hearing this man speak, consecrate the Eucharist, and greet local Catholics one knows why he has made it so far within the Church. Contrary to what I expected, he was a humble man who lovingly greeted those waiting for the chance to shake his hand and kiss his ring. He took time to speak with those that had a few words for him and allowed pictures to be taken with those who wanted to be photographed with him. The cynical side of me that realizes the Church is mainly about politics once you reach a certain level wondered if this was only about politics and a popularity contest. However, when I gazed deeper into this man’s demeanor and actions, I realized he is a man who truly loves Christ, his Church, and the faithful he shepherds. He has a lively sense of humor that he sprinkles through out a homily filled with unvarnished truth. During his homily, he covered every possible topic with humor, love, and the unvarnished truth. This weekend was a true blessing! My understand is that they are going to put a video of his visit online. When and if this happens, I will post a link to it here.

Papal Prayer Request

The Pope's statement listed specific petitions to be raised during the day of prayer and penance:

for an immediate ceasefire,
for the opening of humanitarian corridors allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid, and
for reasonable and responsible negotiations to begin to put an end to objective situations of injustice that exist in that region."

Source

Something pretty to share

Nutty, nuttier, nuttiest

Yes, these three words are currently the equation of my life. LOL I enjoyed an extended weekend for the Fourth of July which allowed me to spend the Fourth in Columbia with my dear friend Gigs from "Idol" thoughts that cross my mind. My laptop was a smashing success with the youngest and made me feel almost like part of the family. ;) Contrary to what her dear hubby thinks, the food was excellent although I missed the homemade icecream - I'm sure it was good. Oh well, there's always next year. :) Unfortunately, I missed the fireworks, because I had to head back to Charleston for work the next day. Yeah, I'm getting old and that tends mean early to bed and up early in the morning.

So, the world abroad has been in turmoil and the space shuttled launched after several delays. The Supreme Court is becoming increasingly interesting to watch since the influx of the two new justices. Even the senior members seem to have a new level of enthusiasm.

The Episcopal Church is taking a non-surprising path - it began as a result of King Henry and his issues with women and now what is left of Christianity in the Episcopal Church is going down a dangerous road in order to be "inclusive" of all sexual orientations by "ordaining" an openly homosexual man living with his "boyfriend" after divorcing his wife. I don't think there is a need to go into detail regarding the issues with this scenario. Now, they have ordained a homosexual "friendly" female bishop. Source As the saying goes, "if you life by the sword, you die by the sword." Don't get me wrong, I believe we need to love and accept all people, but that does not mean we have to condone sinful behavior. Yes, we all sin, but Christianity is a call to continual conversion which means we have to do as Christ told the adulterous woman, "Go and sin no more." or at least try this doesn't mean we need to change traditional Christian teachings so we can avoid feelings of guilt.

Now this brings us to the latest news within the Presbyterian Church, USA. They are changing the trinitarian formula - at least outside of the baptismal rite - to include "inclusive" language. Unfortunately, this inclusive language seems to lose focus on the trinitarian belief of Christianity - Mother, child, womb or Rock, redeemer, friend? Source

Honestly, Calvin would come running back to the Catholic Church if he was here to witness these changes. The hardest reality is that this is what happens without the Rock Christ founded his Church on.

My friend Jaime is settling into her new routine or rather a surprising lack of routine for someone who just finished her medical residency. She is a locum tenens physician - which means she will be traveling from location to location filling in for doctors on vacation, maternity leave, or to fill in until a new doctor is found for an area. I admire her willingness to give of herself in this manner and hope to post a link to her blog where she shares the tales of her travels in the new future - I want to get her permission first. She will be a true blessing to the people she helps during this time.

So, my life is crazy, but apparently not as crazy as the world around me so I am counting my blessings and thanking God each one. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and I will try to post more frequently over the next few weeks.