Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7



Sunday, November 04, 2012

(11/4)...streaming



Happy Feast of St. Charles Borromeo, patron of seminarians (those dear boys men) and stomach disorders. Remember that the next time the stomach bug goes through your house. Somebody needs to make up a rhyme, like the one to St. Anthony patron of lost things, but for vomit and fevers. Any submissions?

We are having a quiet evening at my house. As a reward for preparing a big and tasty dinner last night, my husband suggested we order pizza tonight. My guess is he didn't want to do any dishes. Maybe it was in honor of St. Charles, as he was an Italian. I baked an Apple Butter cake with Ginger Browned Butter Icing, and we ate it with Butter Pecan Cashew ice cream. Yum.

Mass was a bit of a train wreck today. I don't think I've ever had such a bad experience at Mass. We sat in front of a family, a few of which were Catholic and more than a few not, with a three- or four-year-old boy who talked through the entire Mass. I'm not kidding. A few times it was a loud whisper but most of the time it was borderline outdoor voice. At one point, during Father's homily (a Father we didn't know and who did not identify himself -- don't you just hate that?) the little monster (he really was) stood on the pew and said "I'm on fire, I'm on fire!" I thought he was going to crash and burn on my head.

Around the same moment, the little girl in front of us pulled some lotion or hand gel out of her little purse (B&B Raspberry, if I'm not mistaken which is, in my opinion, one of the top five worst smells ever) and used it, several times, sending all of us into coughing and sneezing fits. It was a multi-sensory experience.

At the Consecration the little man in back of us received a loudly-whispered retelling of the Last Supper by grandpa. "On the night before the man on the cross died, he had supper with his friends and they ate bread and had wine." By then I was pinching together the bridge of my nose to stay sane. I could hear almost nothing besides the kid and the bells. I know this retelling sounds uncharitable, but it was all way, way beyond normal distractions at Mass.

Finally it was Communion, but the visiting priest didn't get the run-through of the Communion traffic and didn't see the elderly and handicapped in the front three pews. Finally he got it, and as he finished giving the last person Communion, he stepped back and right into the front of the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion holding the chalice of the Precious Blood. The extraordinary minister's hands went up and the Precious Blood spilled, probably all over his suit coat, the back of the priest's chasuble, and all over the floor. Audible gasps. For a moment time stopped, and then they all acted as if nothing happened and took their places. No purificator on the floor. I felt so sick, I was afraid I'd lose my breakfast. My Lord, was there on the floor. In hindsight, I should have stood in front of the spot so no one walked there, but I didn't think of it until later. I think Father should have stopped what he was doing until the someone, the EMHC, got another purificator and put it on the floor. For this reason, I think the Precious Blood should not be distributed to the masses. The masses should be educated that the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus is contained completely within the Host. After Communion, a purificator was placed on the floor, but, of course, that was after ten pews of people behind us walked through it.

Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.


Fortunately the remainder of the day was rather quiet. I have sewn several scapulars, and generally rested. It feels like the calm before the storm, and I know that the storm ahead will challenge each and every one of us.

Tomorrow our parish is having Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament all day for a good outcome of the election. We prayed for the election of government officials who will protect the sanctity of human life at all stages, as well as religious freedom. We also had two great letters published in our bulletin. One you can find here (by a local Catholic physician) and the other here (by the bishop of Green Bay)

Tomorrow I will fast and attend Adoration. Faith and I will learn about the Electoral College. Leila did a great resource post for learning. 

On Tuesday, I will vote. I am one of the few who wait for Election Day to vote. I don't think I will manage to do anything besides vote. I will allow myself to be distracted by prayer. I plan to take a Miraculous Medal to the polling place and leave it somewhere. I may or may not also sprinkle a little Holy water along the way. I know I'm odd, but I believe every little bit helps.

God help us. 

9 comments:

  1. Oh my...
    Last night I went alone to Mass at not-my-usual-church (needed to get out of here) and the old men behind me chatted through the whole thing; another old man proclaimed all the responses in Latin.
    It was not a Latin Mass.
    This must be the week for church train wrecks, but yours definitely wins.
    Of course, I'm using the term "win" very loosely here.

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  2. Ugh, you don't sound uncharitable. I have four kids and I know that things are crazy in our pew sometimes, but really, when people are insane around us, I have a hard time concentrating.

    As for the spilling of the Precious Blood, my heart aches.

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  3. I've had some loud, disruptive kids at recent Masses too (not mine, but sitting nearby).

    I agree about the Precious Blood. I also think it adds too much time to the Mass: 500 people trying to receive it when they already received the body, blood, soul and divinity via the host. And then they skimp on cleaning the chalices...at our church, they whisk the chalices away to be purified after Mass. Reserve the Precious Blood for special occasions and for those with wheat/gluten allergies.

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  4. I would have wanted to cry at that Mass---for several reasons. I would have gone back to my pew after communion, put my head down and my fingers in my ears to pray for all those who couldn't see what was wrong or do anything about it, especially the priest.

    We are not supposed to be receiving the Precious Blood at Mass. IDK if that's the whole US or the Atlanta Archdiocese. It was done under an indult from the Holy See which expired over a year ago, I believe.

    OTOH, the Mass we attended yesterday was exceptional.

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  5. Oh my goodness!! Train wreck indeed...I'm stressed out just reading about it. I never receive the Precious Blood anymore, ever since I have had children, because I'm always holding a baby and the ones who can walk walk close to me and sometimes I nearly trip over them when we go up to Holy Communion. I think that is a good idea, not having Precious Blood every Sunday...but I doubt they will change that.

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  6. The Lord has certainly seen fit to give you your share of unusual crosses lately. God have mercy on us all. Holy water at the polling places is definitely in order - you're not odd, you're thoughtful! (and thank you for the reminder to be more grateful for the daily TLM available to us)

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  7. I call that type of mass a "zoo or circus mass" because I feel like I've visited the zoo/circus instead of holy mass. Like Kimberlee, I too am very grateful for our TLMs...we have two we attend...the smaller country church 20 minutes away and the much larger 60 minutes away in New Orleans...both outstanding!

    I refuse to turn the tv on regular programming today as I am so ready for this upcoming election day to be over!

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  8. That does not sound uncharitable at all, it sounds like a perfectly normal reaction to the total chaos going on around you. I'm so sorry that happened at your mass!

    And election day? Oh I can't even think about it. This whole area is in such a mess from the storm and the rhetoric is so vitriolic and fierce on Facebook that I've had to leave it for a while. Pray, pray, pray and vote. And then pray, pray, pray some more. That's about all I can do at this point.

    But on a lighter note, I had a dream this weekend that you and your family were in PA for some reason, so you stopped to visit us. And then our dog promptly ate Faith's shoes. We don't even have a dog so ?!?!!?. Got to love pregnancy hormones for those dreams out of left field. :)

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  9. I'm glad you're sprinkling the holy water, and your experience at Mass does sound like a "train wreck"! I used to be an Episcopalian, and even though they don't believe in Transubstatiation (well, most don't) spills were taken very seriously and treated promptly and properly at our church. How awful! I think that only the deacon should have the chalice, or else the Precious Blood should remain at the altar. This day will be over soon;just another chapter in American History. Hopefully it won't be one of the last. But as one of my friends posted, "No matter who is elected President, Jesus Christ is still the King!" Amen!

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I appreciate your comments -- sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself!