Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Priest Took the Holy Water Away - Updated


UPDATE: I spoke to the pastor who said it's a Lent thing. He did not use that exact phrase. He used appropriate priestly words. Right now we are to concentrate on our journey with Jesus. The Holy Water will return at Easter. You can bet some of us will really, really, really appreciate. Lent does feel like a desert w/no Holy Water. 




Yes, the pastor at my parish took away the Holy Water!!!! A lady at my parish told me it's because the priest said we "weren't using it right." Well, if the congregation needs correction, correct us by using words! It's like we're children, and he's the parent. The lady also said that he said that we don't need the holy water.

We need more holiness, not less.

What can I do?

I WANT MY HOLY WATER!!!!

I am concerned.

You know when you walk in, and you bless yourself with holy water, and it's a reminder of our baptismal promises? Yep, the holy water fount is GONE!




Sunday, February 17, 2013

St. Peter and the Keys to the Church, Not to my Car

This morning I donned my bulky parka then picked up Dad for Church. After Mass, my dad asked if we were ready to go. I said no because I could not find my keys. We looked everywhere, and two strangers helped us. I checked under the pews (by crawling underneath them), under my car, on the sidewalk between car and the church, the four pockets in my parka, and dumped my purse out several times. No keys. Dad was getting mad at me, I tried pleading to St. Jude and St. Anthony. Just great, my keys ran away to join my missing pants and my missing mitten. Ugh.

No keys.

In anticipation of this day coming, I carry an extra set of keys in my purse. Whew! Did the keys fall under the car seats? No, but I found about a dollar in loose change (my retirement fund!) scattered on the floorboards of my car. Finally, we gave up after 45 minutes and went to the grocery store.

Dad was more upset than I was. I said it was an opportunity for a miracle. I wondered if St. Peter ever lost the keys to the Church.

Upon arriving at the grocery store, my dad asked for my coat and my legally BLIND father found my keys in a 5th pocket located near my right armpit. I said I didn't know that pocket was there. Then I noticed another secret pocket, and another, and another. How many pockets does my parka have???

Clearly, my parka is too advanced for me. And thank you for your help, Saints Anthony and Jude.


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

New Pope is a-Coming

But we don't know who it will be.

Am I the only one who is NOT freaked out that Pope B16 is leaving? So what if one hasn't resigned in 600 years? I do NOT think bad things are coming. We would be freaked out if he died. Let's just wish him well during his retirement.

Also, I don't expect the Catholic Church to change its doctrine. What has been wrong will remain wrong.

We may go a short time without a pope, but that has happened before in my life time. First there was that pope who died before we got John Paul I. Then JP the First died suddenly. Talk about a short term! Then John Paul the Second died. And now Benedict the 16th is leaving. We'll be fine. My pastor will continue to say Mass, hear confession, etc. And as soon as the parish building fixes the electricity, religious ed. classes will resume. Sure it seems that B16 just started his popehood, but that's because time flies the older we get.

I don't think that cartoon of Batman slapping Robin is funny. With friends like Batman, who needs enemies? In any case, those are fictional characters.

So while the news of his resignation came as a surprise, it doesn't mean the earth will stop spinning. People move on, people change, circumstances change, GOD remains the SAME.




Monday, February 11, 2013

My Anniversary is Today

It's the anniversary (of many years) of my First Holy Communion.

Yay for me!!!!

We processed in church while singing "Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing. . ."

Yes, I'm sad that Pope Benedict the 16th is resigning, but the Catholic Church will be okay.  He is allowed to resigned. He is 80 years plus and is certainly allowed some down time during his golden years. Even God rested after creating the world. 

I hope Pope B16 is in good enough health to enjoy his retirement. He has left quite a legacy. I do find it interesting that some people verified this information on Facebook. Since when is Facebook a credible news source??

We will be fine.  Now, I'm going to back to the point of my original post:

Yay for Me! I am Catholic, and I receive the Bread of Life! And I'm grateful to my parents, especially my deceased mother, who gave me the gift of FAITH.




Thursday, February 7, 2013

What Scientific Investigation? Our Lady of Guadalupe

Hi Readers.

These does you can hardly go about your business without having a state issued I.D., whether it's a driver's license or passport or military I.D. or who knows what.

In my family, you can't be a family member without being given your own picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLOG), suitable for framing. The responsible aunt also gave me a sheet about OLOG titled, "The  Scientific Investigation." The problem? The scientific investigation sheet does not cite a source. So whether or not these are facts, the statements are interesting.


  • The image shows no sign of deterioration after 450 years.
  • Three images can be seen reflecting in Mary's eyes. It is believed to be the images of Juan Diego, Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, and Juan Gonzales (the interpreter).
  • The distortion and place of the images are identical to what is produced in the normal eye which is impossible to obtain on a flat surface.
  • The starts on Our Lady's mantle coincide with the constellation in the sky on December 12, 1531.
  • The Lady stood in front of the sun showing that she was greater than their dreaded sun god.
  • The black belt is the Aztec maternity belt.
  • The four petal flower over the womb was a symbol of live, movement, and Deity.
  • The design on her rose colored garment shows she is the Queen of the Earth because she is wearing a map of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the apparition took place.


It would be nifty if all the above were true especially about the the constellation. Have you heard any of these statements? I would like to know where my aunt got this sheet but she is deceased. Any OLOG scholars out there?

Has anyone seen the real tilma? Does anyone have a really good picture of it? Can you see images in her eyes? Does the design look like a map of Mexico??

Anybody? Anybody?



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

For the Logic-Impaired


I forgot where I found this picture. I think from someone else's blog.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Let's Pray Ethan up into the Sunshine and Back to his Family - Updated!


Update on Feb. 4 - He's Free! Ethan is reunited with his parents and apparently physically unharmed. 

He's probably really scared though.

As far as the kidnapper goes - well, he won't be hurting any more people. Ever. He's in God's hands now. 


I added this little boy to my prayers. Let's pray that this little boy is soon above ground, healthy, and reunited with his parents. 

There are so many people to pray for, aren't there?


Police say 5-year-old boy taken hostage Tuesday afternoon after bus driver was shot dead has been crying for his parents but apparently is unharmed.

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. — Three days after being taken hostage in an underground bunker, a 5-year-old autistic child is receiving medicine, coloring books and food and is watching TV during a tedious standoff between police and the boy's captor, authorities report.
Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, is accused of snatching the boy off a school bus Tuesday afternoon after killing the driver.
Dykes, a retired truck driver whom neighbors described as paranoid and combative, took the boy into the bunker on his property in Midland City, in extreme southeastern Alabama. The bunker, built as protection from tornadoes, has electricity and, according to neighbors, enough food for several months.

Dale County authorities Friday released the first photo of Dykes. [I removed the photo of the kidnapper because I don't want his face on my blog.]
Midland City Mayor Virgil Skipper, who has visited with the boy's parents, said on Thursday that the child, named Ethan, is "crying for his parents."
"They are holding up good," Skipper said. "They are praying and asking all of us to pray with them."
Republican state Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, told the Associated Press that he visited the boy's mother Thursday and that she is "hanging on by a thread." [May our prayers give this mother a strong cable of hope.]
Clouse said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger's syndrome, an autism-like disorder, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
Dale County authorities have said that Ethan appeared to be in good condition and unharmed, despite the three-day-old ordeal.
Police have been communicating with Ethan and Dykes by way of a pipe from the bunker.
James Arrington, police chief of nearby Pinckard, said the bunker is 4 feet underground, is about 6 feet by 8 feet and has a 60-foot long PVC pipe coming out of it. [The kidnapper probably smells.]
"He will have to give up sooner or later because (authorities) are not leaving," Arrington said. "It's pretty small, but he's been known to stay in there eight days." [He's going to spend longer than eight days in a jail cell.]
The Dale County Sheriff's Office reports that Dykes is connected to the anti-government survivalist movement.
Arrington confirmed that assessment, saying, "He's against the government — starting with Obama on down." 
"He doesn't like law enforcement or the government telling him what to do," the chief said. "He's just a loner."
A neighbor, Eben Rummell, says Dykes was known in the the area as "The Shovel Man" because he would chase people and animals off his property with a shovel if they got too close.
Sheriff's deputies had arrested Dykes on Dec. 22 and charged him with menacing for a Dec. 10 complaint, court records show. He spent four days in jail before posting the $500 bail.
His trial was to have begun Wednesday morning.
Instead, he is accused of grabbing the boy off the school bus and killing the 66-year-old bus driver, Charles Poland, who had tried to block access to the vehicle. [This makes me sad. The  bus driver was just trying to do his job and keep the children safe.]
Patricia Smith, a neighbor whose two children were on the bus, said the gunman shot Poland four times.
Authorities have said they believe it was a "random kidnapping" from among more than 20 children on the bus.
Monday, Dykes boarded the bus and spoke briefly with Poland, next-door neighbor Kelly Miller told WSFA-TV. She said she does not know what the men spoke about.
Tuesday morning, hours before the killing and abduction, Poland gave Dykes a thank-you gift of eggs and marmalade for clearing off the driveway where the bus turned around, said Miller, whose two sons escaped the bus before the shooting.
After Poland left, Dykes gave the gift to Miller's father.
"Here. I don't want this," Miller quoted Dykes as saying.
Scott Johnson reports for the Montgomery Advertiser. Contributing: The Associated Press, Michael Winter.