After a very busy Sunday, I was very glad to have what was, for all practical purposes, a virtual "day off." I purposely slept in, knowing that there really wasn't going to be much for me to do early in the morning, especially now that school is no longer in session. After mass and morning prayer, I went off to the school to run some errands. I tried to find Kevin Walsh, the Recruitment Director for the High School, about the upcoming LAN party scheduled for this Thursday. He wasn't around, at outside of the regularly-scheduled mail pick-up, I really had absolutely nothing to do with my morning. I prayed a rosary and attempted to update my video game blog for the remainder of the morning. I also scheduled a visit to the St. Vincent Depaul/Catholic Charities Senior Center with the parish Nurse for Wednesday morning; I'll deal with that cross when I come to it.
At around 11:30 or so Fr. Steve knocked on my door with an invitation to come along to the Women's Center on Elston Avenue. Having been to this crisis pregnancy center once before, I was all too happy to oblige.
Fr. Steve said a beautiful mass at the chapel at the center (they recently expanded their adoration hours - it's now a perpetual adoration chapel, meaning, among other things, that the closing of the nearby abortion mill that spurred the creation of the Women's Center in the first place shouldn't be too far off. Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
I prayed a decade of the rosary with a group of volunteers after the mass, and then Fr. Steve and I went back to St. Ben's just in time to catch the tail-end of lunch with the Elementary School teachers, who were busy in their post-school year evaluation with the principal, Rachel Gemo. We mooched off some of the leftover food, stuck around for about 20 minutes or so, and headed off back to the rectory.
I had the rest of the afternoon free; I once again attempted to read "Diary of a Country Priest," but fell asleep AGAIN after only 10 pages of reading (and this during the Hour of Mercy no less!). At least I have a good sleeping aid for the lonely nights now...
The Dinner bell (yes, we have a dinner bell here at the St. Ben's rectory!) rung at about 5:30, as usual. Tonight was the first night every priest here at St. Ben's was actually around for dinner! I felt like taking a photo or something. I still don't understand why the priests here don't spend more time together. It can get awfully lonely as a parish priest, even in (especially in!) the midst of city living, which fosters a certain kind of spiritual isolation courtesy of our individualistic culture. Just how do these priests do it? Is the day-to-day contact with parishioners really so taxing as to demand some "alone time" that even other priests dare not interfere? I don't get the impression that the priests here particularly dislike each other, unless they're putting up a facade because of me. But why would I make that kind of substantial difference? Besides, I would have seen at least SOME indication by now if the priests here had any bad blood between them. St. Benedict, Ora Pro Nobis!
Following dinner, I met Fr. Beaven over a Benfest meeting (the annual fundraiser/block party for the parish and schools); lots of interesting exchanges, but my favorite comes from a woman remarking about managing the scheduled outdoor mass with the scheduled appearance of a clown for the younger ones in another area of the parking lot. The group was trying to figure out just where exactly the clown could be during the celebration of the mass. "Can the clown help out at mass?" was her semi-facetious query. Deacon Phil, who was sitting right next to me, immediately burst into a bout of nervous laughter. I have a feeling both he and I were sharing the same pretentious anxiety about the liturgical nightmare that could envelop with or without the clown's participation. Oy!
In the midst of the automatic volunteering that inevitably becomes a part of being the parish's resident seminarian for the summer, I'm apparently signed up to help out with the "water and pop" tent at Benfest; Deacon Phil gave me some good pointers, as did a couple of the other attendees at the meeting. Not being particularly big with manual labor and checklist-variety maintenance work, I gotta admit that this particular job looks like it could be more than I bargained for. Already the butterflies are soaring in my stomach at the thought of having to deal with rude drunkards and noisy kids, with my hands chaffed with freezerburn as my skin boils beneath the sweltering summer sun. No doubt I'm going to have to learn to "let go and let God" in this situation and many others throughout the course of my life; trust in the Lord (which is really just a layman's way of citing the theological virtue of Hope) must take deeper root within me if I am to be an effective priest, or an effective ANYTHING, for that matter.
O God, I am heartfully sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins, because of your just punishments. Most of all, because I have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love, I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to sin no more, and to avoid the near occasion of sin. AMEN!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
A "cantoring crisis" at the 8:00AM mass this morning left out Music Director in a bit of a bind; the scheduled cantor had to cancel (and at the last-minute, naturally), and, with Fr. Beaven's permission, I became the replacement cantor for the mass! Hopefully the "morning modulation" that accompanied my singing wasn't too jarring for the congregation. As this nun knows all too well, however, Everything is for the greater glory of God, including my crummy singing voice. I'm just happy to do my part when I'm called to do so. That's vocation for ya!
Sometimes that's easier said than done, though. I mentioned my breakfast invite in an earlier entry - well, it started out as well as could be expected, considering that I was a guest at a party for a group of people whose "common thread" was some sort of active participation and/or leadership at St. Ben's at some point in the past. Many of them, for one reason or another, were no longer parishioners. This didn't present any obstacles to conversation and/or social improprieties, though my introversion naturally led me to being more or less a wallflower for most of the early part of the brunch. I was still managing to enjoy myself at least mildly, however, with Fr. O'Boyle, Ben, the man who had originally invited me, and Janette, a fellow choir member, doing their part to introduce me to the rest of the group. I met Ellen, a former rectory staffer, who I quickly discovered to be the comedian of the group (and a very good one at that!). I also met Kent, the host, who's quite the cook if I do say so myself. As good as the cooking was, however, things took a turn for the worst as more and more drinks were served. Apparently being the new seminarian on the block doesn't dissuade these St. Ben's vets from talking about their issues with church teaching in rather explicit terms and in very dramatic ways. I don't think they were deliberately trying to make me uncomfortable and/or get my take on the various issues, but the end result was that I was made EXTREMELY uncomfortable in a circumstance where I was, in the first place, merely content. As much as I appreciate the invitation, I really can't imagine going to a brunch with this group again, truth be told. Quite the pastoral challenge, at any rate. By the grace of God I hope I can do more than sit in silence the next time a situation like this arises again. Jesus, I trust in You!
Dinner turned out to be a far more palatable affair; I managed to hook up with the Ravenshood Catholic Young Adults Group, along with Fr. Steve and Mike, a brother seminarian and fellow Quigley alumnus. Now, THIS was a group I felt far more "at home" with. My age group? Check. Totally into defending the faith? Check. Totally interested in talking about it? Check. Totally into Jesus? Check! God Bless the whole lot of them!
Really, I don't understand why there's such a movement to "modernize" everything in the church - be it music, liturgy, doctrine, you name it - when the young, devout Catholics want nothing of the sort! They dig the "red meat" homilies chock full of deep theology; they love devotions like Eucharistic adoration and the rosary. I suspect many would assume the older crowd would be the one to fit the latter description, whilst the young would be the ones eager to berate and belabor their particular problems with the church. Well, for the upteenth time, I am discovering the REVERSE to be true. Not that it matters much in the long run; every soul that is saved gives glory to God, and EVERY soul, including my own, needs saving. Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever! AMEN!
Sometimes that's easier said than done, though. I mentioned my breakfast invite in an earlier entry - well, it started out as well as could be expected, considering that I was a guest at a party for a group of people whose "common thread" was some sort of active participation and/or leadership at St. Ben's at some point in the past. Many of them, for one reason or another, were no longer parishioners. This didn't present any obstacles to conversation and/or social improprieties, though my introversion naturally led me to being more or less a wallflower for most of the early part of the brunch. I was still managing to enjoy myself at least mildly, however, with Fr. O'Boyle, Ben, the man who had originally invited me, and Janette, a fellow choir member, doing their part to introduce me to the rest of the group. I met Ellen, a former rectory staffer, who I quickly discovered to be the comedian of the group (and a very good one at that!). I also met Kent, the host, who's quite the cook if I do say so myself. As good as the cooking was, however, things took a turn for the worst as more and more drinks were served. Apparently being the new seminarian on the block doesn't dissuade these St. Ben's vets from talking about their issues with church teaching in rather explicit terms and in very dramatic ways. I don't think they were deliberately trying to make me uncomfortable and/or get my take on the various issues, but the end result was that I was made EXTREMELY uncomfortable in a circumstance where I was, in the first place, merely content. As much as I appreciate the invitation, I really can't imagine going to a brunch with this group again, truth be told. Quite the pastoral challenge, at any rate. By the grace of God I hope I can do more than sit in silence the next time a situation like this arises again. Jesus, I trust in You!
Dinner turned out to be a far more palatable affair; I managed to hook up with the Ravenshood Catholic Young Adults Group, along with Fr. Steve and Mike, a brother seminarian and fellow Quigley alumnus. Now, THIS was a group I felt far more "at home" with. My age group? Check. Totally into defending the faith? Check. Totally interested in talking about it? Check. Totally into Jesus? Check! God Bless the whole lot of them!
Really, I don't understand why there's such a movement to "modernize" everything in the church - be it music, liturgy, doctrine, you name it - when the young, devout Catholics want nothing of the sort! They dig the "red meat" homilies chock full of deep theology; they love devotions like Eucharistic adoration and the rosary. I suspect many would assume the older crowd would be the one to fit the latter description, whilst the young would be the ones eager to berate and belabor their particular problems with the church. Well, for the upteenth time, I am discovering the REVERSE to be true. Not that it matters much in the long run; every soul that is saved gives glory to God, and EVERY soul, including my own, needs saving. Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever! AMEN!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Not once, but twice I intended to go to mass today, and not once, but twice did circumstances either force me to skip mass altogether or come in far later than what should ever be acceptable. After my day off yesterday (I saw "Up" and "Night at the Museum" in celebration of the commencement of my brothers' summer vacation), my dad drove me back to St. Ben's this morning, arriving with about 15 minutes to spare before the 8:30AM mass. I told him that I'd meet him inside the church after running some errands in the rectory; unfortunately, I couldn't finish off everything in time, and it was well after 8:30 by the time I had everything sorted out. I decided to pray the daily Office and wait until 9:00, when I was scheduled to volunteer to decorate the church with some other lay volunteers. I arrived just in time to see my dad off and welcome in a wedding photographer, who was arriving early to prepare for an 11:30 wedding, which, to the surprise of both Fr. Steve and myself, would coincide with the scheduled Saturday time slot for Reconciliation.
No matter. Ann (who I had met at a previous meeting) Julie (a young mother who is expecting another child!) and I worked for nearly 2 hours decorating the church; an abundance of green plants now decorate the altar area, which, I think, is quite fitting considering the liturgical season we've just entered (priests wear green vestments for mass during Ordinary time). We finished just in time for me to do a bit of spring cleaning in my room before Reconciliation at 11:30. I waited until after Confession before I had anything to eat; I'm surprised I didn't pig out later tonight at dinner, all things considered.
My free afternoon was spent playing video games until the Hour of Mercy; after finishing off my daily devotions, I began reading Diary of a Country Priest again - only to fall asleep while reading. This is the second time this has happened, and I really wish I knew why I have this strange propensity to begin with. The book certainly isn't boring (in fact, I can't imagine a better book for a seminarian to be reading during an apostolate, especially at a parish!), so it's really frustrating that I can't even get through a full chapter without falling asleep! Heck, I'm lucky I'm past the page 50. Mrs. Marge, the Secretary at the school, really wants to borrow it to, and since it's on loan from Fr. Steve, who's leaving in only a month for his new parish assignment, I've got a lot of reading to do in the coming days!
By the time I woke up from my afternoon nap it was after 5:00PM - mass! Luciano, I was sure, was expecting me to sing with the choir and/or cantor; clearly this was NOT happening today. I washed up in time to arrive for Fr. O'Boyle's homily; I saw Sue again, who greeted me quite jovially during the Sign of Peace. This, combined with the fact that we sang "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" for the recessional, made my grumpy post-nap mood evaporate quite quickly. Luciano seemed genuinely surprised when I talked to him after mass, but it didn't seem to me that he was particularly distressed, either. In fact, he was quite understanding. Hopefully I'll be able to make up for my absence at the masses tomorrow!
I had to have dinner alone tonight, though I didn't particularly mind (pasta, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!) That will NOT be happening tomorrow, given my brunch date with a certain group of parishioners following the 10:00AM mass. I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully I won't make too much of a fool of myself!
Lord, give me strength to overcome Satan's temptations throughout the day tomorrow. By your saving grace,stifle my pride and grant me eternal life with you. Jesus, I trust in you. AMEN!
No matter. Ann (who I had met at a previous meeting) Julie (a young mother who is expecting another child!) and I worked for nearly 2 hours decorating the church; an abundance of green plants now decorate the altar area, which, I think, is quite fitting considering the liturgical season we've just entered (priests wear green vestments for mass during Ordinary time). We finished just in time for me to do a bit of spring cleaning in my room before Reconciliation at 11:30. I waited until after Confession before I had anything to eat; I'm surprised I didn't pig out later tonight at dinner, all things considered.
My free afternoon was spent playing video games until the Hour of Mercy; after finishing off my daily devotions, I began reading Diary of a Country Priest again - only to fall asleep while reading. This is the second time this has happened, and I really wish I knew why I have this strange propensity to begin with. The book certainly isn't boring (in fact, I can't imagine a better book for a seminarian to be reading during an apostolate, especially at a parish!), so it's really frustrating that I can't even get through a full chapter without falling asleep! Heck, I'm lucky I'm past the page 50. Mrs. Marge, the Secretary at the school, really wants to borrow it to, and since it's on loan from Fr. Steve, who's leaving in only a month for his new parish assignment, I've got a lot of reading to do in the coming days!
By the time I woke up from my afternoon nap it was after 5:00PM - mass! Luciano, I was sure, was expecting me to sing with the choir and/or cantor; clearly this was NOT happening today. I washed up in time to arrive for Fr. O'Boyle's homily; I saw Sue again, who greeted me quite jovially during the Sign of Peace. This, combined with the fact that we sang "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" for the recessional, made my grumpy post-nap mood evaporate quite quickly. Luciano seemed genuinely surprised when I talked to him after mass, but it didn't seem to me that he was particularly distressed, either. In fact, he was quite understanding. Hopefully I'll be able to make up for my absence at the masses tomorrow!
I had to have dinner alone tonight, though I didn't particularly mind (pasta, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!) That will NOT be happening tomorrow, given my brunch date with a certain group of parishioners following the 10:00AM mass. I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully I won't make too much of a fool of myself!
Lord, give me strength to overcome Satan's temptations throughout the day tomorrow. By your saving grace,stifle my pride and grant me eternal life with you. Jesus, I trust in you. AMEN!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
I'm glad I managed to wake up for 6:30AM mass today! It's the first time I've done so in nearly a week (more proof that I'm letting my internship become too much of a "routine"?), and I'm glad I managed to do so. It gave me ample time to pray Morning Lauds and the Office of Readings, AND eat breakfast, AND greet the schoolchildren as they headed off to their last full day of school - the end-of-the-year picnic, to which I was a happy guest!
My trek with grade 3 over to the park was so silent as to be distressing - more loneliness. Fortunataely that changed when I found a way to occupy myself by unloading food, blankets, and sports equipment from the minivans of teachers and parent chaperones eager to see their children enjoy a day in the warm sunshine!
Fortunately today's weather was perfectly accomodating to such a desire, as a cool breeze supplemented 60-ish degree weather with enough sunshine to slightly burn my (albeit sensitive) skin. I managed to read a bit of "Diary of a Country Priest," a novel I borrowed from Fr. Steve, until my proximity to a junior high kickball game managed to get me recruited first as a "pinch-kicker" and then as the umpire. I'm glad I remembered to wear my gym shoes, and I know that the two 8th grade teachers as well as the principal were happy to have me aboard.
My afternoon visit with Helen Schott turned into a more...how should I describe it..."psycho-spiritual" affair? This remarkable woman chewed my ear off for nearly 3 hours, sharing stories of her 88+ years here on planet earth and her spiritual journey towards Christ. She is truly the "matriarch" of St. Ben's parish, having lived through the Great Depression, the Cold War, 4 Chicago Archbishops and countless Pastors while living in Irving Park. Though she is no longer active in the parish due to her age and health, she has a plethora of wisdom to share with anyone willing to take the time to listen. I am very blessed to have had the privilege of sharing some of my time with her on her birthday. Thank you Helen! God bless you!
I managed to squeeze in a rosary in between that visit and my dinner, though I did fall asleep as I did so. Recalling the words of a brother seminarian ("When you fall asleep, your guardian angel finishes the rosary for you,") I enjoyed a scrumptious (though perhaps slightly overly indulgent) dinner, and after a 2-hour hiatus, got recruited to do a little church redecorating with Debbie and her two daughters. She must be a holy woman to be able to put up with my klutzy knot-tying and non-existent sense of aesthetics. It took us over an hour to get everything fixed up, but the church certainly looks the better for it, and her kids behaved very well despite the circumstances that would seem to indicate otherwise (Would you want to spend your evening watching grown-ups hang up fake flowers in a church? Especially if you were a 4th grader?) Debbie tells me one of them is already considering religious life. She fell asleep right behind the altar as we were hanging up the flowers; perhaps this is a forbearance of things to come?
The young and the old, praise the Lord; you heavens, bless the Lord; everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; Bless the Lord, oh my Soul, and all my being praise his Holy Name Forever. AMEN!
My trek with grade 3 over to the park was so silent as to be distressing - more loneliness. Fortunataely that changed when I found a way to occupy myself by unloading food, blankets, and sports equipment from the minivans of teachers and parent chaperones eager to see their children enjoy a day in the warm sunshine!
Fortunately today's weather was perfectly accomodating to such a desire, as a cool breeze supplemented 60-ish degree weather with enough sunshine to slightly burn my (albeit sensitive) skin. I managed to read a bit of "Diary of a Country Priest," a novel I borrowed from Fr. Steve, until my proximity to a junior high kickball game managed to get me recruited first as a "pinch-kicker" and then as the umpire. I'm glad I remembered to wear my gym shoes, and I know that the two 8th grade teachers as well as the principal were happy to have me aboard.
My afternoon visit with Helen Schott turned into a more...how should I describe it..."psycho-spiritual" affair? This remarkable woman chewed my ear off for nearly 3 hours, sharing stories of her 88+ years here on planet earth and her spiritual journey towards Christ. She is truly the "matriarch" of St. Ben's parish, having lived through the Great Depression, the Cold War, 4 Chicago Archbishops and countless Pastors while living in Irving Park. Though she is no longer active in the parish due to her age and health, she has a plethora of wisdom to share with anyone willing to take the time to listen. I am very blessed to have had the privilege of sharing some of my time with her on her birthday. Thank you Helen! God bless you!
I managed to squeeze in a rosary in between that visit and my dinner, though I did fall asleep as I did so. Recalling the words of a brother seminarian ("When you fall asleep, your guardian angel finishes the rosary for you,") I enjoyed a scrumptious (though perhaps slightly overly indulgent) dinner, and after a 2-hour hiatus, got recruited to do a little church redecorating with Debbie and her two daughters. She must be a holy woman to be able to put up with my klutzy knot-tying and non-existent sense of aesthetics. It took us over an hour to get everything fixed up, but the church certainly looks the better for it, and her kids behaved very well despite the circumstances that would seem to indicate otherwise (Would you want to spend your evening watching grown-ups hang up fake flowers in a church? Especially if you were a 4th grader?) Debbie tells me one of them is already considering religious life. She fell asleep right behind the altar as we were hanging up the flowers; perhaps this is a forbearance of things to come?
The young and the old, praise the Lord; you heavens, bless the Lord; everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; Bless the Lord, oh my Soul, and all my being praise his Holy Name Forever. AMEN!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Quite possibly the shortest work day ever. A funeral at 10:30AM (and I only had to sing in the choir for that; no committal this time) and that's it! I did run a few errands in between a lunch outing with a college friend (Thanks Larry!), but as it turned out, contrary to my initial understanding, I didn't need to show up to the pre-school "graduation" after all...so I didn't. It's the first time thus far I've deliberately NOT ATTENDED a parish event, and in some ways, it has me concerned. Is this life finally starting to become "routine" in the worst way possible? Am I becoming jaded and cynical to the point where I think that some parish going-on are a waste of time? For that matter, if this is indeed the case, is that a BAD thing?
Tomorrow, I've got a lunch date with an elderly parishioner who, I'm told, LOVES seminarians. I received a rather surprising affirmation of this when I called her this afternoon. When I introduced myself as the resident seminarian, she immediately replied "so when are you coming to visit me?" Talk about a warm welcome! It's her birthday, too...maybe I should get her a gift?
The other highlight of my day, besides having oodles of time to work on some "seminary stuff," was the lovely little letter dropped off in my mailbox at the rectory today. I've been invited out to breakfast with a group of 10:00AM mass regulars!
Suffice it to say this Sunday now looks radically different from my first two weekends here. W00t! My first breakfast invite! Does that mean I'm "part of the block" now? As I told Larry as we walked by a young grade-schooler who confidently waved at me, "I'm either famous or infamous." Here's hoping it's the former, and I think this note proves that I am! Thank you Lord for this day! Grant me strength and courage as I move forward with my discernment here at St. Benedict's Parish. May I increase in the virtues of faith, hope and love each and every day I'm here. AMEN!
Tomorrow, I've got a lunch date with an elderly parishioner who, I'm told, LOVES seminarians. I received a rather surprising affirmation of this when I called her this afternoon. When I introduced myself as the resident seminarian, she immediately replied "so when are you coming to visit me?" Talk about a warm welcome! It's her birthday, too...maybe I should get her a gift?
The other highlight of my day, besides having oodles of time to work on some "seminary stuff," was the lovely little letter dropped off in my mailbox at the rectory today. I've been invited out to breakfast with a group of 10:00AM mass regulars!
Suffice it to say this Sunday now looks radically different from my first two weekends here. W00t! My first breakfast invite! Does that mean I'm "part of the block" now? As I told Larry as we walked by a young grade-schooler who confidently waved at me, "I'm either famous or infamous." Here's hoping it's the former, and I think this note proves that I am! Thank you Lord for this day! Grant me strength and courage as I move forward with my discernment here at St. Benedict's Parish. May I increase in the virtues of faith, hope and love each and every day I'm here. AMEN!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
I slept in for a second day in a row today; as it turned out, it didn't matter too much in the long run, as I still had ample time to wash up, eat breakfast, etc. before heading out to the school. Fr. Steve and I shared a nice breakfast conversation about politics, of all things (who wants to know some juicy details about wannabe congressman John Fritchey?). If nothing else, it woke me up. What a way to start the morning!
I needed the wake-up call, however, for the meeting with Patrick O' Rourke of Resurrection Hospital. To make a long story short, after an rather..."interesting" set of ethical conundrums at a hospital visit my first week here at St. Ben's, the parish nurse here at the rectory, Mary Fitzgerald, thought that it would do me some good to speak to this man - as the resident medical ethicist at the hospital well versed in Catholic medical ethics (he was even in the seminary for three years himself), he could answer my questions about Catholic medical ethics. This isn't the "Catholic Bioethics Blog," after all, so I will not go into the nitty-gritty details of the meeting here, but suffice it to say, it was certainly worthwhile. I look forward to touring the St. Vincent DePaul Center with the parish nurse next week.
Brief errands consumed the remainder of my day, though I did manage to help set-up for Tuesday night BINGO (I'm a regular over there, now...one of the ladies has even taken to calling me "handy Andy"). Hopefully I was a help to the maitenance guys as opposed to a hindrance. They can't seem to catch a break from the other people around the block, so I'm hoping that a little help here and there brings a little bit of Light to their lives. We all need it, and they are no exception.
There was also a (fairly) brief Athletic Department meeting; the principal of the Elementary School, Rachel Gemo, commented upon my arrival: "Wow, Andy! You're here for the Athletic Board meeting. Fr. Beaven must not like you much!"
Well, it wasn't all that bad, actually. Sure, it didn't involve the high-strung financeers at the High School Board meeting, or the spiritual discussion at the Pastoral Council, but I was glad to see SOME committee at the parish were, for once, the majority of attendees were men. Do women REALLY do EVERYTHING at parishes? I have yet to encounter a parish where this isn't the case! Is it just a "motherly" thing that I can't possibly understand? Is it a problem that men, with the exception of the priests, seem to be generally less involved with the running of the parish? I'll be pondering this as I crawl into bed tonight. There's a funeral for a beloved member of the St. Benedict's tomorrow. I won't be doing the committal, but even with the brief time I spent with this particular woman, I understand why she was so beloved to the parish. May she rest in peace. AMEN!
I needed the wake-up call, however, for the meeting with Patrick O' Rourke of Resurrection Hospital. To make a long story short, after an rather..."interesting" set of ethical conundrums at a hospital visit my first week here at St. Ben's, the parish nurse here at the rectory, Mary Fitzgerald, thought that it would do me some good to speak to this man - as the resident medical ethicist at the hospital well versed in Catholic medical ethics (he was even in the seminary for three years himself), he could answer my questions about Catholic medical ethics. This isn't the "Catholic Bioethics Blog," after all, so I will not go into the nitty-gritty details of the meeting here, but suffice it to say, it was certainly worthwhile. I look forward to touring the St. Vincent DePaul Center with the parish nurse next week.
Brief errands consumed the remainder of my day, though I did manage to help set-up for Tuesday night BINGO (I'm a regular over there, now...one of the ladies has even taken to calling me "handy Andy"). Hopefully I was a help to the maitenance guys as opposed to a hindrance. They can't seem to catch a break from the other people around the block, so I'm hoping that a little help here and there brings a little bit of Light to their lives. We all need it, and they are no exception.
There was also a (fairly) brief Athletic Department meeting; the principal of the Elementary School, Rachel Gemo, commented upon my arrival: "Wow, Andy! You're here for the Athletic Board meeting. Fr. Beaven must not like you much!"
Well, it wasn't all that bad, actually. Sure, it didn't involve the high-strung financeers at the High School Board meeting, or the spiritual discussion at the Pastoral Council, but I was glad to see SOME committee at the parish were, for once, the majority of attendees were men. Do women REALLY do EVERYTHING at parishes? I have yet to encounter a parish where this isn't the case! Is it just a "motherly" thing that I can't possibly understand? Is it a problem that men, with the exception of the priests, seem to be generally less involved with the running of the parish? I'll be pondering this as I crawl into bed tonight. There's a funeral for a beloved member of the St. Benedict's tomorrow. I won't be doing the committal, but even with the brief time I spent with this particular woman, I understand why she was so beloved to the parish. May she rest in peace. AMEN!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
I woke up late today - I usually spend my mornings opening car doors for parents dropping their kids off at school (or at last for the past few days or so) and I had every intention of doing so today. Unfortunately, oversleeping left me up a creek without a paddle, so I had to delay breakfast and wash up quickly enough to go to the 8th grade graduation Mass at 8:30 AM (since, having overslept, I missed my usual 6:30AM Mass rendezvous!).
The Mass was actually pretty "standard" - a term which, as everyone knows, I HATE using to describe something as holy and sublime as the Mass - just a quaint little procession for the departing 8th graders before and after the mass. Fr. Beaven gave them an excellent homily with plenty of them to ponder; he touched upon the necessity of "metaphorical death" (Christ crucified!) and made sure they all knew that he was proud of them, wishing them the very best for a bright future.
For my part, I sang with the 7th grade choir. I'm sure the 20-something year-old looked perfectly normal with the jittery group of tweens and their two teachers, plus one church cantor brought along to help out with the event. Regardless, I sang, AGAIN. And I will sing, sing to Lord for his goodness to me, all the days of my life!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
The rest of the morning involved a few errands here and there, as did the afternoon. I had enough time to sneak in some reading for the "course," and I grabbed lunch at the fast-food joint across the street from the church. All in all, a very quiet day after that; just a few more errands here and there, and I had plenty of time to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament. There was one point where an 8th grader practicing for the ceremony later in the evening unintentionally interrupted me with his rather superb drumming skills (the tabernacle at St. Ben's is located in a little chapel that can't be seen from most parts of the church, so he couldn't have known I was there!); but he and I both had nearly finished with our respective activities at that point, and I am proud to say this graduate was one of two in his class to receive the Andy Kirchoff/Fr. Steve Bauer Vocation Awar- I mean, the Quigley Scholars Brochure. Fr. Steve and I talked briefly at dinner tonight about any potential 8th grade boys who might be good candidates for the Archdiocese's Quigley Scholars, a discernment program aimed at High School age youth (and specifically created to replace Quigley Preparatory Seminary, my alma mater, which closed just two years ago). So, to Chris, the drummer, and Andreas, the 8th grader who is more curious about the priesthood than anyone your age I've ever met: May the Holy Spirit help you two, in particular, to discover your vocations, whatever they may be. Congratulations to the St. Benedict School Class of 2009!
The Mass was actually pretty "standard" - a term which, as everyone knows, I HATE using to describe something as holy and sublime as the Mass - just a quaint little procession for the departing 8th graders before and after the mass. Fr. Beaven gave them an excellent homily with plenty of them to ponder; he touched upon the necessity of "metaphorical death" (Christ crucified!) and made sure they all knew that he was proud of them, wishing them the very best for a bright future.
For my part, I sang with the 7th grade choir. I'm sure the 20-something year-old looked perfectly normal with the jittery group of tweens and their two teachers, plus one church cantor brought along to help out with the event. Regardless, I sang, AGAIN. And I will sing, sing to Lord for his goodness to me, all the days of my life!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
The rest of the morning involved a few errands here and there, as did the afternoon. I had enough time to sneak in some reading for the "course," and I grabbed lunch at the fast-food joint across the street from the church. All in all, a very quiet day after that; just a few more errands here and there, and I had plenty of time to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament. There was one point where an 8th grader practicing for the ceremony later in the evening unintentionally interrupted me with his rather superb drumming skills (the tabernacle at St. Ben's is located in a little chapel that can't be seen from most parts of the church, so he couldn't have known I was there!); but he and I both had nearly finished with our respective activities at that point, and I am proud to say this graduate was one of two in his class to receive the Andy Kirchoff/Fr. Steve Bauer Vocation Awar- I mean, the Quigley Scholars Brochure. Fr. Steve and I talked briefly at dinner tonight about any potential 8th grade boys who might be good candidates for the Archdiocese's Quigley Scholars, a discernment program aimed at High School age youth (and specifically created to replace Quigley Preparatory Seminary, my alma mater, which closed just two years ago). So, to Chris, the drummer, and Andreas, the 8th grader who is more curious about the priesthood than anyone your age I've ever met: May the Holy Spirit help you two, in particular, to discover your vocations, whatever they may be. Congratulations to the St. Benedict School Class of 2009!
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