What happened here?

Moving to Wordpress

2011-07-04T14:24:00.002-04:00

Yep, I'm making the jump, too. I'm hopping over to Wordpress with a new blog: With Eager Feet. Come visit me!

Blessed Holy Week!

2011-04-22T17:21:00.002-04:00

Hello, readers. I don't even know if you actually do read this. Nonetheless, today begins the Triduum, and I feel a duty to wish all my readers a very blessed Holy Week! Don't forget that Good Friday is a day of fasting and abstinence for all who are physically capable. (Fasting means eating only two small meals, which do not add up to a large meal, and one large meal. Liquids of all types may be consumed throughout the day.) Try to make it to a Stations of the Cross, if you can. Oh! And the Divine Mercy Novena starts today. I put up a post over on Cleansing Fire about it.

If I don't write again (which is highly likely), a Happy Easter to everyone! May you all enjoy the greatest feast day of the liturgical year.

I feel sick...

2010-12-02T08:22:00.002-05:00

Hello, WHH readers... this blog has been resurrected. This is why.

Another take on this same topic.

I'd love to post something motivational, but I don't think I have the energy. We are at war. We are at war against all the forces of evil in this world. The Church Militant cannot afford to be divided and scattered--especially not in an area where the soldiers are constantly defecting, or they may no longer know for what we fight.

I think I might change the title of my blog sometime... I'll probably be picking it back up next year.

Cheers. I need to go say a Divine Mercy Chaplet. And maybe throw "A Doll's House" across the room--it's frustrating.

Rosaries on Parade

2010-10-16T12:49:00.004-04:00

I don't think October could make itself my favourite month any more than it already has. Halloween, the birthday of one of my pseudo-brothers, and the month of the Rosary. Hurrah!

Pictured below are two of my almost-dozen rosaries. I have full plans to expand my collection. These two were both made for me by my mum. The one on the left, the blue-with-daisies and clear, is my travel one. None of its beads are precious stones and all the findings are pewter. It lives in my purse, and I brought it to Italy. It was blessed by the pastor at Our Mother of Sorrows. The one on the right (which is in desperate need of polishing, again) was my Christmas present a couple years ago. It is sterling silver and Swarovski crystal (colour: Tanzanite AB, for any beaders) and lives on my bedpost. It was blessed by a priest at my previous parish, some number of miles away. The aforementioned previous parish was Jesuit, though, so I don't know where the priest is stationed now.

(Click on the image to enlarge it.)
All readers: you are henceforth tagged. Post your rosaries on your blogs!
Thank you to The Crescat for this idea.

Still Alive...

2010-10-03T11:17:00.002-04:00

Hello, readers... I am still alive, you know. Just posting more over at Cleansing Fire than here--mostly because over there, I don't have to switch Google accounts. =P

Life in the DoR is still heterodox as ever, and it's starting to drive me a little crazy. However, I did get the opportunity to drag Gilbert to a High Mass recently, which was a very excellent experience. There is something very wrong when you go to a Mass in the vernacular and it feels inferior to Latin Mass... both should be equal but different.

Getting down to the nitty-gritty of a new school year, I'm dreading the rest of it. Our first school Mass was so bad that I cried afterward--and I don't cry that easily. Take note: Mass is a sacrifice, not a performance. The focus is on God. Not on your neighbour and how buddy-buddy everyone was. Last time I checked, we were Catholic. This means revering God (the Father), Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as forces beyond our control, benevolent powers who allow us to exist in order to acknowledge His Goodness.

I have some fun little plans for dropping hints to the administration... however, if I publicize them here, then they will know what's going on. =P Let's just say that I need to be anonymous from here on out, since they do not listen to me any more. I figure I can write a little bit more here, on What Happened Here, than over on Cleansing Fire... this has fewer followers, fewer hits, and Gen told me that CF gets hits from Aquinas daily and regularly (and it's not always me accessing from school). I'm sure the school knows I exist on the internet. So I will be much more surreptitious about what I do~

This really is a ramble, isn't it. But! Once I get my driver's license, I'm considering starting a new series called Mass Hopping. I will go to Mass at different churches all over Rochester and at different times and check out the orthodoxy of the church, the size of it, the effectiveness of the homily, etc... how well-dressed the congregation is, all that other fun stuff. ^_^ And then we'll have weekly awards for Best-Dressed Congregation, Best Choir, Best Music, etc. Good things. ^_^ And polite but constructive critiquing of things which bothered me. I am determined to be much more charitable!

IN CONCLUSION:
A few more notes to make before I finish this post.
1. There's a new student blogger--a good friend of mine. Sundry Sentences
2. Vocations Rosary at Saint Thomas the Apostle, Tuesday 2 November 2010 at 7pm. Let's show them some support!
3. My latest research project: Frances Chesterton. I'm hoping to write some biographical work on her eventually... if anyone has any information or sources, I'd be forever grateful for it. ^_^

CAR#3 - Manalive

2010-06-17T17:04:00.002-04:00

Originally, I was going to cover this book for Independent Reading. But then we didn't have to do the assignment (yay, no thematic/analytic essay!) and I could truly enjoy reading and annotating this book.

The premise, for those who have yet to read it: Innocent Smith is a man who is determined to not, as he put it, "die while still alive." So... he climbs trees, rescues runaway hats, has picnics on roofs, breaks into his own house... shatters societal conventions while still following the commandments. Leaving home for the sole purpose of returning to it... wooing and recapturing his wife all over again... Mr. Smith has an excellent grasp of living life to the fullest.

I loved this book and highly recommend it to people who love a good story with lots of things which will make you scratch your head and smile.

You say "Catholic" like it's a bad thing.

2010-06-16T13:45:00.002-04:00

Originally posted on Cleansing Fire, I decided this needed to be fully re-posted here, too.

To my classmates and fellow Catholic school students:

Many of you scoff at my reading. You laugh at me, and consider Catholicism to be "restrictive" and "stuffy." I would like to formally apologize for your utter lack of catechism and teaching in the beauty of the faith. While I am not personally responsible for this, I can do my level best to teach you as much as possible. All I ask is that you listen and try to learn and understand.

Society is, above all, adamantly anti-Catholic. Don't try to deny it, because I don't feel like arguing this now, but I can prove it. You, my friends, by falling into this anti-Catholic trap, are being fed the illusion that you are rebels. Following the "flow" of what is "normal" is not rebelling. It's like being a nonconformist by being Goth and dressing just like aaaaall the rest of the people in that "type."

Next time you laugh at someone who is truly interested in their Catholic faith, stop and think about it. Why are you laughing? Why are you scornful? Because they are so fascinated with two thousand years of tradition (and Tradition), doctrine, history, and practices that it is worthy of mockery? Perhaps you should do well to consider your own beliefs. And remember this: a very wise man once said, "He is a very shallow critic who cannot see an eternal rebel in the heart of a conservative."

Please try to take this to heart. You have my sincerest apologies for growing up in the DoR, and I hope at least one of you passes this on to your friends.

~Ink

See, this is how it goes.

2010-06-16T13:44:00.001-04:00

Plato applied to DoR--who knew? Over on CF.
Found here.

Recruiting...?

2010-06-16T13:43:00.000-04:00

Post on priestly recruiting, over on CF.
Found here.

New Look~

2010-06-13T16:55:00.001-04:00

I got bored of my old look, so I spruced it up with staaars~ I love stars. ^_^ What does everyone think?

Cleansing Fire 2.0!

2010-06-10T17:49:00.003-04:00

If you don't already follow Cleansing Fire, do so! The new site has just been released, redirected from its old home on Blogspot. They asked me to be one of the authors on the new site, and I'm very honoured! This does not mean, however, that I will let What Happened Here fall out of habit. I'll probably just redirect some posts over to CF. However, there will be some WHH-specific series which continue, such as Catholic Author Research and some other things which will only be understood by readers of this blog (for example, references to my family).

So go follow Cleansing Fire, but please don't leave me...!

Blogs of Note

2010-06-08T17:42:00.002-04:00

Remember a ways back, when I posted about a Nazareth girl who is blogging about her experience with her school closing? Her blog, SOS, can be found here. It has been brought to my attention that her frequent commenter (and good friend) "AQ Girl" has started her own blog to describe the same incidents, but from an Aquinas perspective. Sort of like a He Said/She Said, except now it's a She Said/She Said... wait, that doesn't even make sense. Does it? Anyway, the two blogs go hand-in-hand, sort of like parallel novels. AQ Girl can be found here.

Corpus Christi

2010-06-06T16:27:00.003-04:00

High Mass today was fantastic. I loved absolutely everything about it--the Sequence (Lauda Sion Salvatorum), the homily, the incense, Benediction at the end... I really needed that this weekend. ^_^

For your listening pleasure, I have looked up today's Sequence because I loved it so much.

Thank you, God, for...

2010-06-06T11:22:00.002-04:00

ears to hear Your Word
a mouth to proclaim Your Glory
a mind by which to know and seek You
a heart to love You and Your Creation
Dad, who takes me to Mass at an ungodly hour of the morning
Mum, who encourages my love of the "old ways"
Grace, who I told to go back to bed, it's not ten yet
Princess, who drives me to prayer
Sistra, who checks my ego daily
Gilbert, who lends me his apologetics library
creativity to glorify You
love to spread in Your Name
Your Presence with us in the Eucharist

Hmmm....

2010-06-01T15:44:00.003-04:00

Google is my friend. I found that there is apparently supposed to be a training session on the new Roman Missal in Albany in October... "For Priests and Diocesan Leaders." (Sources here and here.)

The floor is now open for betting and debate--will Bishop Clark be attending, and will he take any of it to heart?

Shiny~

2010-06-01T15:17:00.002-04:00

In an attempt to find the clause which excludes women from the priesthood in the Code of Canon Law (my search was, regrettably, unsuccessful due to sidetracking), I got very, very sidetracked. I won't go through the explanation--suffice to say, my mind makes itself dizzy. However, I found a wonderful site which is my new favourite for the afternoon! Sancta Missa. How did I not find this before??

Chant Mass is my new love.

2010-05-27T15:03:00.002-04:00

It really is. I'd intended to post about this on Sunday, right after I got home from it, but I got sidetracked raving about it to Gilbert... it really was fantastic.

Listening to chant makes it easier to follow along with the Tridentine Mass for me, since the words are usually a bit more decipherable. I will admit, though, I got somewhat lost in the posturing--it seemed like more than a Low Mass and less than a High Mass... a Middle Mass, maybe? Nonetheless, it was beautiful.

I'd been needing a trip back to Latin Mass at Saint Stanislaus, anyway--it tends to be my time for actual prayer, instead of for letting my mind wander about the diocese, wondering how it can be fixed... which is something I do fairly frequently, these days.

Does anyone know where I could contact the priest who said Mass? I would love to get a copy of his homily. It was wonderful.

Inky Blogthon and the Quest for the Proper Chalice--DENIED

2010-05-19T18:19:00.002-04:00

Gah. I am frustrated. How on earth does this work...?

I went to speak to the campus minister the other day about getting Aquinas a "real" chalice. She informed me that, apparently, they already have something like sixteen. But, instead, we use the earthenware set because it was made specifically for Aquinas.

What I don't understand is how we are allowed to use earthenware. According to the GIRM, breakable vessels are not appropriate to be used for the Blessed Sacrament. Earthenware is about as breakable as it comes, next to glass. Apparently, Aquinas has been "dispensed" from these requirements because the clay set was made specially for us.

How do you get dispensed from a flat-out rule, which is spelled out quite clearly in a Church document? The DoR never ceases to amaze me.

First Communion

2010-05-16T12:02:00.002-04:00

Finally, my promise to be nice has run its 24-hour course.

So I really enjoyed the fact that the church was packed. And I also enjoyed that Fr. Sam gave a fantastic homily, stressing the need to make Mass a family affair. And I enjoyed that they had some of the First Communicants do the readings--they are so adorable. ^_^

It was what happened next that really irked me. Sr. Leandra decided to jump in on the homily time and present something to the little munchkins. She re-told the Gospel story and watered it way down... and that's all I gathered because I checked out. >_>;

Skip ahead to the consecration, when all the little First Communicants were called up to stand around the altar with Father. List of things wrong with this picture:
1. There were about 60 of them, all clustered around the altar.
2. They stood between Father and the altar. Not acceptable. You do not cross or stand in front of the priest.
3. If you want everyone behind the priest to watch the consecration, why not just have Mass ad orientam anyway?
4. Apparently, they had told the Faith Formation classes that they did not have to wear a white dress or suit and could just "wear whatever." So there were a very few people not in white/suit. Not many (just one or two) but it still sort of ruined the effect...

It doesn't help that there were many families who (very obviously) never bring their children to Mass, and the small ones were literally pounding around the back of the church. My big-sister instinct was to reach out (we were in the back row), scoop them up, and sit them next to me (or on my lap, since I was rather squished) and inform them that this was church and they had to sit quietly and listen. But... they weren't my siblings or cousins, so I couldn't do so... alas.

All in all, the ceremony was nice but I really wish it had more meat to it, and that it wasn't so weird. Apparently there were "liturgical hand motions," but I didn't see them because I'm a little on the short side...

Pet Peeves on Sundays (or Saturday evenings)

2010-05-15T18:23:00.003-04:00

1. Sloppily-dressed people at Mass
2. People trying to hold my hand during the Our Father
3. Is it that hard to bow in front of the Tabernacle...?
4. Crazy hippies
5. Standing or crossing in front of the priest
6. Say the black, do the red. It's colour-coded, people.
7. Assuming that "vocation" only means dedication of oneself to the religious life
8. "But why do you want to go back to the old ways?"

...I'm too tired to come up with more. I'll edit this later in a different colour if I think up any more.

Stupid promise...

2010-05-15T15:08:00.001-04:00

Today was Princess's First Communion, hurrah! But, after Dad came back from the meetings which told them all about how Mass would go and the like, he warned us all about how crazy it would get. So I promised to be nice today.

In fewer than 24 hours, I will put up a new post detailing Mass and how insane it was, and its pluses and minuses. But today, I promised I'd be nice. It's really, really hard.

Dangerous places

2010-05-10T10:26:00.002-04:00

Out of all the places I have been over the years, I would like to argue that the most dangerous places are libraries. Countless scores upon scores of words and ideas, all pleading for one's attention and demanding to be aired at their whimsy and will... Shelves upon shelves of books, clamoring to be opened and read.

Amongst this cacophonous din, a philosopher (read: lover of wisdom) finds himself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and misinformation which barrage him upon his first step into the room. An uninformed mind would be too intimidated to discern that which is true. Even so, a well-informed mind is equally intimidated by the amount of knowledge present. It takes, however, a well-informed mind to understand that some of this knowledge is the Truth and that the rest of it is merely a shadowy attempt at realizing the Truth, but the originator of the knowledge was looking in the wrong direction and therefore misguides all who absorb and accept his "knowledge" as true.

...If any of this makes sense, I'll be thoroughly amazed. This is pretty much just word-vomit.

What to do...?

2010-05-10T10:04:00.003-04:00

So while this entire blog is about what's wrong in my school and the diocese, I'm wondering how we can make it right. I've asked this question of my family and the few friends who are on my side in this matter... so far, there is no solid plan for fixing it. At the moment, it seems as if I shall simply and quietly set an example, then explain why it is what I do to anyone who asks. That's definitely not what I originally had in mind.

I really want to start fixing these problems now, rather than later...

-insert witty blog-post-title here-

2010-05-09T12:13:00.004-04:00

So! Mass yesterday was pretty nice, I guess. I got to explain to Fr. Sam why I wear my hat, and he thinks it's really neat that Sistra and I are bringing back the old custom of women covering their heads for church. I love explaining about my hat, it always makes me happy~

On the flip side, it seems that they still have not grasped the whole "laity cannot confer blessings" concept. At the end of Mass, all the mothers (or people in motherly roles, such as godmothers) were asked to stand, and the rest of the parishioners were asked to "extend their hands over them." Mum requested that none of our family follow suit. I love Mum. ^_^

Also, why were the altar servers standing for the Consecration...? The captain was a boy, about my age (actually, I think he's in my grade), and he was definitely not as into it as I usually am... See, I was considering quitting altar serving all together (and not being a substitute or anything) in protest of the crazy wymyn-priest-advocates, but then I feel uncomfortable leaving elementary school boys all alone up there... it's not the priests' job to keep them in line--he has to celebrate Mass. So I think I'll stay on the subs list and serve whenever I can and try to teach the little boys how to be reverent, so that when they're in middle and high school, there will be no need of people like me because they will understand, and pass it on to their younger counterparts. (Little anecdote: a couple months ago, I served captain with Sistra and another server...possibly Grace? my memory fails me... and we had a bunch of little, elementary-school boys who can't possibly have been any older than fifth grade. They were "shadowing" us, learning the ropes. It made me smile to see them, and by the time Mass was over, I had them bowing whenever they crossed in front of the tabernacle. ^_^ So cute, and so nice to see reverence. If that happens again, but with a different group, I'll be sure to fill them in ahead of time.)

One last question, in honour of Mother's Day today--anyone know if the mother superior of a convent celebrates Mother's Day...? I think they would...

Anyway. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and motherly-figures out there! (Especially you, Mum. <3, Ink.)

((Also, feel free to use the comment box as suggestions for witty titles for this one.))

Watch out, Italy...

2010-04-20T15:55:00.002-04:00

...Ink is going to rock your world!

Or you're going to rock hers. This is more likely. /nodnod

Mum and Sistra and I are going to Italy this summer! I promise I'll take a million pictures. We are going to Rome, Florence, and Venice... and I think we are staying one night in Milan, but I don't know whether or not we'll have time to do tourist-y things.

I can't wait!! ^_^ Mum says she's going to try to get a general audience with the Pope... I'm praying that we'll get in.

On Extraordinary Ministers

2010-04-17T19:17:00.002-04:00

I've noticed that Mother of Sorrows tends to have a lot of "Eucharistic ministers," even though we have enough priests in residence for them to distribute the Eucharist without a need for extraordinary ministers. Upon mentioning this to someone, this person (I forget who it was) asked why retired priests should give up their time to be at every Mass.

I thought about this for a while and finally came up with an answer today, sitting in Mass. Priests are fulfilling their vocation. As such, it is part of their vocation to distribute the Eucharist. Just because they are retired makes them no less a priest. Similarly, a family is a vocation as well. Because two parents may retired, would that mean that they should neglect one of their children or grandchildren? Not at all. Likewise, retired priests are still priests.

...Whaaat?

2010-04-15T10:13:00.002-04:00

For an art project, I'm drawing the inside of a Catholic Church at the moment of consecration (if anyone really wants the full information on this project, comment and I'll write it out). In the pews, I have many kneeling figures, and was going to research the rules of who-sits-where in the Eastern rite (basically, where men and women sit on each side of the altar) in order to give them a nod when I draw in my single figures (the image is primarily full of couples and families...)--have a lone man sitting on whichever side he would sit in an Eastern Rite church.

While researching, I did a Google search, figuring that, hey, this is Church stuff. None of it will be blocked, right? I just got a "Blocked Web Page" for this site. Category? "Hate, Other."

Hate. Really?

History Repeats Itself

2010-04-14T18:20:00.002-04:00

This is a follow-up to my below post about a textbook which seemed highly suspicious to me, so I checked its Imprimatur.

The Imprimatur inside the textbook named Catholic Social Teaching was granted by a "Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla, D.D., M.A., Bishop of Cleveland." Upon researching this Bishop Pilla, I discovered him to be highly progressive and sounding much like a particular bishop of the Diocese of Rochester. Many incidents were the very same.

Here is the article I found on Bishop Pilla. Liturgical dance, labyrinth walking, occult and "spiritual" practices, feminism in the form of supporting heterodox practices (in his case, altar girls instead of wymyn-prysts)... Ring a bell, much? Bishop Pilla has already retired, though. Bishop Clark, on the other hand...

I can't wait until 2012.

Even the teacher hates the textbooks.

2010-04-14T17:51:00.003-04:00

This is a true statement. The textbooks used in my Theology class are so dubious that my teacher (with whom I frequently disagree) dislikes them. They take little snippets of encyclicals and other Church documents--JUST little snippets--and make them say things that make me look again. Both my teacher and I agree on the fact that we should be going directly to the sources in order to fully understand what is happening... the abominable dissection of documents should never be acceptable when attempting to refer to a source.

I vote Aquinas continues with its "going green" policy by abolishing Theology textbooks and going directly to the sources! Textbooks can be recycled, after all.

EDIT: I checked the Imprimatur on my "Catholic Social Teaching" textbook, and it was given by Bishop Anthony Pilla. I think that explains itself, since I did some Googling and discovered things which explain how the book even got an Imprimatur in the first place.

CAR #2 -- Orthodoxy

2010-04-09T15:13:00.002-04:00

Currently, I'm reading G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. It's very, very interesting... definitely a fun read. It's made me smile in class a lot. (No I'm totally not reading in class, what are you talking about. >_>)

One of the things about this book which jumped out at me (aside from all the inside jokes and connections I've been able to make) is that Chesterton wrote it as a response to a challenge. When I described this to one of my friends at school, the response I received was, "That's totally something another mad person like you would do!" I'm flattered to think that this friend considers me on the same level of creativity as Chesterton, though I know I'm not nearly to his level in terms of eloquence or understanding. What jumped out at me, though, is the term "mad." Yep, as in the Mad Hatter. I smiled even more to think that there is an entire segment in the book devoted to the definition of the mad, as compared to the sane--that those who live and die by logic are those who are truly mad, and those who allow for some mystery and creativity are the sane ones.

I'm almost done with it, and will have to return it to its rightful owner soon enough... It is, however, a novel I find worth owning. It has been added to my mental list--right below Good Omens. (Good Omens is fantastic for light reading. Warning: do not read in a public place where people will give you funny looks for laughing out loud.)

Happy Easter, belated...

2010-04-09T15:09:00.003-04:00

My Easter was chaotic, but enjoyable. Sadly, we were unable to make it to Latin Mass (which was what I'd hoped to do), but Easter Mass at Our Mother of Sorrows was pleasant, too. The 11am was slammed! Dad and Grace and Princess had to sit separately, and Sistra and Gilbert and Mum and I were lucky enough to all be able to sit together. I wish all the Masses, all year, were like that in terms of attendance...

Side note to child church organizers: if your church has a sound system, chances are that they can set up a speaker to it, even in another room. Ask to see if you can get one in the room where you conduct child church so that you can keep an eye on the progress of the Mass and not come in during the Consecration.

I hope everyone had a blessed Triduum and is enjoying their Easter season!

You've got to be kidding me...

2010-03-23T15:49:00.002-04:00

We're working on Social Justice in Sacramental Living right now. I have a feeling the entire unit could be presented in a much more effective manner than it is at the moment... the entire subject feels like one large guilt-trip. Yes, I know that there are lots of poor and hungry people in the world. I am a teenager in high school--what exactly is expected of me? Should I go on missions with all my free time and spare money? (As you can undoubtedly see, I did not give up sarcasm for Lent...)

Something that jumped out at me from a current assignment is this: a line from my textbook. "Jesus' example of a life of voluntary poverty, his ministry to God's forgotten ones, and his teaching that we must respond to the least in our midst if we want to be called his disciples--all these show his compassionate commitment to the poor." I'm going to give you, my dear readers, a couple lines to figure out why this bothers me so much. I'm sure you'll figure it out.

---
---
---

See it? "[Jesus'] ministry to God's forgotten ones." God doesn't forget people. That's why He sent Jesus. The people referred to in the sentence are the ones who ahve been forgotten by society. Not God.

One of these days, I'll write my own textbook. ...maybe.

A petition...

2010-03-15T20:46:00.002-04:00

In a related vein to my recent posts about school closings and mergings (MoS and AQ/Naz, respectively), a Nazareth student has created her own blog to appeal to the local readers. I consider it worth a read.

Catholic Author Research (CAR) Entry #1

2010-03-12T10:50:00.002-05:00

I have a feeling I'll be writing more about my favourite Catholic authors, so this is now a series of posts... because I decided it would.

So far on my list of authors whose works I have read and enjoy:
J.R.R. Tolkien (I love him. So much.)
G.K. Chesterton (Need to find more of his stuff!)
C.S. Lewis (Yes, only Narnia... so far.)

What I love most about these authors is that they all wrote fiction. While I appreciate essays, I truly enjoy reading a story. This is why I like allegories, too. Things are left open for interpretation, which encourages me to do my homework and learn more.

...As a side note, I discovered relatively recently (courtesy of my friend, who I shall henceforth name Gilbert) that Tolkien and Lewis were part of an organization called the "Inklings." I discovered this after creating my internet identity. As such, I feel compelled to do more research on their little society and see who else was part of it.

A punch to the gut.

2010-03-06T20:04:00.002-05:00

*points above* That's what it felt like when they announced the closing of the 7th and 8th grades at Mother of Sorrows today at Mass. I was serving today, subbing in for someone who was kind enough to step in for me last week. The server next to me was a sixth grader at Mother of Sorrows... she'll be going public next year, she says. She was almost in tears.

There must be something we can do to save our schools. Closing them is obviously NOT the answer.

Our Lady of Mercy to close

2010-03-01T15:39:00.002-05:00

The only term that came to mind when this was announced at Mass on Sunday was a slang term, introduced to me by a long-distance friend with a love of odd not-quite-words: "sadface."

There is something seriously wrong when a church has to close. There is something even more wrong when the rest of the community is not even registering the fact that, "Oh, hey. We should go to Mass more often so our church doesn't close either." I consider Mother of Sorrows to be a particularly lucky church, since it has so many registered parishioners that it only takes a fraction at each Mass to seem well-attended.

Ink's new goal after college: build the Catholic church in Rochester from the inside out.

We're praying for you, OLM. Sadface.

The Beginning of Lent

2010-02-17T17:32:00.002-05:00

To be honest, Ash Wednesday drives me insane. Especially when I am on break and completely used to snacking all day and not eating proper meals. In an attempt to keep our minds off our stomachs, Sistra and I and a friend of ours had long conversations and told amusing stories. Of course, we got talking about food. Cue loud rumbles from three hungry stomachs. I assume one gets used to fasting, of course... but that doesn't make listening to the mention of food any easier right now. It doesn't help that Grace and Princess have been asking us, "Can we have strawberries? Can we have chocolate? I'm gonna have chips, is that okay?" Talk about adding insult to injury. I can't wait till tomorrow.

In this, I will credit the Muslims: Ramadan must be really, really difficult. A whole month of this, except not eating at ALL while the sun is up? I applaud their self-control. *rumble* ...excuse me, please... it has a mind of its own.

Naz to Merge with AQ?!

2010-02-03T17:18:00.003-05:00

Today, all 900-something occupants of Aquinas were summoned to the beautiful, still-relatively-new auditorium for an important announcement. Every year, Mr. Sadler (the principal) gives a "State of the School" (yes it is a bad play off of State of the Union) address. This year, it was the president of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Daley, who made the announcement that Nazareth will be "merging" with Aquinas. They will open a Pre-K through 6, while 7-12 will be in the Aquinas school building.

Apparently, it's been in the works for a long time. As a student, I can promise I didn't see it coming. To be quite honest, I don't want it to happen. Where are we going to fit 200 more students? Yes, I understand that most of them are girls. *glares at boys in homeroom* No, you may NOT store them there. I'm being serious, though--with the addition of the junior high two years ago (affectionately deemed the "munchkins" or "little ones" or "small ones" or "children" or any other diminutive title able to be thought up by high school students), the traffic flow in the school has been drastically changed and the second floor, always busy, is even more congested than ever. If 200 students join our ranks, we're going to need five minutes' passing time instead of four.

Here's me posting my support to figure out how to keep Naz afloat. They deserve to have their own school.

(P.S.: Come see "A Raisin In the Sun," February 4-7! Thursday through Saturday, the show begins at 7:30 pm, while the Sunday matinee begins at 2 pm. Tickets are $10 a person or $8 for students and seniors.)

A very holy weekend

2010-01-24T18:50:00.003-05:00

This year's March for Life is the biggest I have seen yet, and I've been going for the past five years (with the exception of last year). Mum and Sistra and I went to 11:30am Mass at the Basilica... it never ceases to amaze me. Something I've noticed about beautiful churches is that they have such a sense of majesty that anyone who enters cannot help but be more reverent than if they were in, say, a convention center. I like that.

Pictures of the March will be posted once my mom has dumped them onto her computer, since mine is less than cooperative. It was a lot of fun and I got to chat with an old friend of mine from middle school.

Saturday was mostly relaxing, though we did end up driving home from staying with relatives in Philli (that's how we didn't have to drive home right after the March, which would have been unpleasant and overly exhausting). Then today, Mum and Sistra and I went to the Latin High Mass at Saint Stan's. I will admit that I got lost a few times... and my knees and shins hurt by the end of it... but I got to wear my new hat and found it interesting how the English side of the missal matches up more closely with the new Mass translations, especially in the Confetior.

Next time I go to Latin Mass, maybe I'll bring a friend or two... same with the March. I'll win people over a little bit at a time! Hopefully, by the time Sistra has graduated high school, Aquinas will be sending a delegation to the March, no matter how small.

Warning: Rant

2010-01-18T15:28:00.002-05:00

So yesterday we ended up going to 4pm Mass at Saint Michael's instead. Before I get all up-in-arms about what I planned to rant about, I'd like to note that I hereby want to get married in a beautifully ornate church like Saint Michael's or Saint Stan's.

The deacon yesterday said the homily... he was difficult to understand, since the gain on his mike was turned up too much and he projected well without it. I'm wondering if he went to deacon school with the deacon from MoS, since they both say "Amen" at the end of homilies like it's a question. It's not.

Now, my rant. My dad, for some reason, listens to NPR. I find it frustrating, since they're all so... well, if I speak my mind, I'll be going to Confession every day for a week so I'll just let you all imagine. Anyway, the broadcast was about linking Obama to Martin Luther King, Jr. There were all sorts of mentions of Black Power and the Black Panthers and how they were all so great. Forgive me while I scoff, but if we pasty-palefaces did that, they'd call us fascist, Mussolini, or Hitler. It brings me back around to thinks like Gay Pride... what about Straight Pride, or White Power, or Nerds Rule The World? It's getting so silly that I keep expecting the Monty Python Silly Police to come in: "No no no, this sketch is getting too silly, too silly. Move along now... go on, move along. Too silly, too silly..."

One cannot have true equality until people stop saying, "I am more deserving than you."

On a related note, Sistra and Mum and I are going on the March for Life this year! Sistra and I have to reschedule our Friday exams, but that is okay because it's an excused absence. I'll see if I can take some good pictures... going up Capitol Hill usually yields some fabulous ones, looking down at the crowd behind you and seeing the sheer masses of people.

Finally... Latin.

2010-01-16T17:46:00.001-05:00

The familial plan tomorrow is to go to Latin Mass, since Sistra and I are lazy bums and don't want to go to 9:30 am at MoS. I can't wait... I got a new hat for Christmas and plan to wear it!

Hope to see some fellow bloggers there~

Oh, and an aside: I got The Man Who Was Thursday for Christmas. I plan to read it soon... possibly today if I don't get too distracted.

Feast of the Epiphany

2010-01-03T15:16:00.004-05:00

According to a Facebook-addicted friend of mine, there is an event coming up on the Feast of the Epiphany (6 Jan) called Be A Monarch Day, where everyone wears a crown or tiara around all day. She informed me she is attending. I believe I shall participate as well. I find it appropriate that the tiara day is also on the day called the Feast of the Three Kings.

Epiphany is a pretty interesting day, if you think about it. The kings found Mary and Joseph's house and paid homage to a toddler. Last time I checked, toddlers weren't so big on the "sit still, be patient, talk to the people" ordeal which accompanies the approach of royalty (or sometimes, extended family). Can you imagine how Mary felt? An unidentified number (three is simply traditional) of kings troop into your house and bow to your two- or three-year-old, who is probably giggling like mad and innocently getting himself into something he isn't supposed to (like the linen closet, which was all neat and tidy until he figured out how to open the door). These kings also give him expensive gifts, unrelated though they may seem. Gold is for a king... frankincense is used in worship. Myrrh is for embalming... when someone or something is dead. And they are giving these wonderful and somewhat morbid gifts to a little boy who may or may not understand what they mean. I'm sure Mary and Joseph were caught more than a little off-guard.

Hope for Sacred Heart

2010-01-01T16:27:00.002-05:00

Today being the Feast of the Solemnity of Mary and a Holy Day of Obligation, my family and I went to Mass. Our family parish's Mass was at ten in the morning (which is a little too early for us after New Year's Eve), so we went to Sacred Heart Cathedral's 11:15 Mass. I still wasn't particularly pleased, as it was before noon and at the Cathedral.

I still don't understand the layout of the church itself--it confuses me. But the priest who said Mass was fabulous! According to Mum, he was ordained fairly recently. Apparently, his first name is Edison and none of us know his last name, so I'll just call him Father Edison. His homily was marvellous. He described how, as a young boy, his grandmother dragged him to church, and this made him think a lot. (I think it must have influenced him QUITE a bit, since he's a priest!) He told us about how he always marvelled at how amazing, mysterious, and mind-blowing (mostly my adjectives because I don't remember exact wording) it was that a human creature, Mary, could receive God and be the Mother of God, as she gave birth to Jesus. Father also noted that we receive God in the Eucharist, and that it is another amazing mystery as to how we can take God into ourselves every week.

He may be very young, but I'm willing to vote that he becomes pastor somewhere soon! Hopefully somewhere nearby. He's extremely nice, too.

Eagerly anticipating the new fiscal year

2009-12-30T18:38:00.002-05:00

So long, 2009. It's hard to believe that we've already had an entire decade of the new millennium. It feels only yesterday when I was very little and sleeping through the coming of the year 2000...

Here I sit in the dying throes of the two thousand and ninth year since the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, blogging away at my cluttered desk while my family otherwise occupies themselves. It's pleasant to be on break, with no pressing deadlines save Mum telling us that we have to get our rooms clean before so-and-so comes over. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my textbooks. If they weren't school property, I'd have burned them long ago.

Any fellow student readers, I suggest we burn our textbooks in effigy at the end of this school year... sort of like Guy Fawkes day, but different!

And all through the house, not a sound could be heard save the click of a mouse...

2009-12-25T10:28:00.004-05:00

This would have happened to me last night if I hadn't been completely drained from a very long week at school plus a giant Christmas party plus Christmas eve.

It's so odd... right now, it is ten-thirty in the morning and nobody is up except myself and Princess. And I was up before Princess by about half an hour. She really shouldn't be up anyway. Last night was very late after Midnight Mass.

Speaking of Midnight Mass, here is my little spiel on it: I don't remember. I was falling asleep during the homily because the priest-homilist had such a calm, mellow voice... and we were sitting waaayyyy in the back and the incense's scent had finally drifted away...

Happy Crimmas, one day belated

2009-12-24T14:33:00.003-05:00

"Crimmas," according to one of my friends from school, is the last day of school before Christmas break. Yesterday was Crimmas for Aquinas and therefore I wished everyone a Happy Crimmas.

Today, I would like to make a note that NOW we celebrate the Virgin Birth. Not three weeks ago on December 8th. Are you reading this, any other Aquinas students? You should have listened to Father's homily. Then you would have gotten that bonus right in Precalc class.

I must be going now. We are running behind on our appointment to spend time with our extended family. Have a happy Christmas eve, a merry Christmas day, and a blessed Christmas season!

Pink:Rose::Purple:Violet

2009-12-13T21:48:00.003-05:00

I think it's time for priests to man up and accept that the colour of the third Sunday of Advent is pink. If it's going to be "rose," then the other three weeks of Advent are "violet." But then we're getting all flowery, and how is that any better than pink and purple? And don't try "light red." Pink is as much light red as purple is blue-ish red. Or reddish blue... though the liturgical purple has more blue than red in the mix.

(Just for clarification for anyone who wishes to forget the pain of analogies: the title of this post is read, "Pink is to Rose as Purple is to Violet.")

Question to readers concerning the order of the candles on the Advent Wreath being lit. Is there a specification that reads that the candles must be lit beginning with the purple one directly across the circle from the pink one, then proceeding in order around the circle to light the pink one last (Fig. 1)? That is how my family and I have traditionally lit ours and seen it lit, but Mother of Sorrows lights theirs with the two next to the pink first, then the pink in the center, then the last purple across from the pink (Fig. 2). Diagrams attempted below for anyone in need of visual aid.

U = Purple
I = Pink
(Numbers designate order in which the candles are lit)

Fig. 1
---2,4U---
1U----- 3I
---2,4U---

Fig. 2

---1,2U---
4U----- 3I
---1,2U---

Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing--but only because Father told us we had to

2009-12-08T20:12:00.002-05:00

Today was... interesting. In honour of the feast, I wore all white (except my shoes, since I do not own white shoes. Therefore, my shoes were black...)--get it? Immaculate Conception... hahaha. I've been laughing at my own joke all day, since most people only half-get it, if they get it at all.

Mass was, as usual, in the auditorium. I got to sit with the lights and sound at the control panel, since the seat was open and why not? I like sitting there. It's the second-best seat in the house (the first being the Eye In the Sky/the Godbox/the Stage Manager's Booth, which has an absolutely spectacular view). The priest was an old-ish, tall, skeletally skinny man who talked with his hands in such large gestures that I had a hard time stifling my giggles when he used air quotes.

To give Father all due credit, as a student body, Aquinas really does fail at singing anything except the Alma Mater. Nobody puts in the effort. I would, but I have an absolutely terrible voice... AND I sing soprano, so it annoys anyone nearby. Anyway, he did make us sing. Which I suppose I was okay with. And I was very pleased to hear him, at the beginning of his homily, clarify that the feast day today is to celebrate the Immaculate Conception of MARY--not the Virgin Birth. But from there, it began to weird me out.

For starters, any priest who has the misfortune of celebrating Mass with us has to do it in the round because the choir is behind the altar, on the stage. (For theatre-savvy readers, the altar is downstage and the choir is upstage. For non-theatre-savvy readers, this simply means that the altar is closer to the audience, aka the house. Hence my use of the term "best seat in the house.") During the Eucharistic prayer, Father presented the bread and wine (pre-transubstantiation) to the ENTIRE congregation--this included turning around and showing it to the people in the choir. The niggling in my brain said, snarkily, "You know, if this were Latin style, he wouldn't need to do that..." but then I hushed it so I could focus.

Then, at the end of the Liturgy of the Eucharist (but before the closing blessing!) some of the Peer Ministers came up and reflected on... I don't even know what. I couldn't really follow it, and I've never understood that idea. Then they presented the priest with a senior shirt, as is tradition (though I really wish we could do it after "This Mass is ended, let us go in peace to love and serve our Lord and one another"). Then everyone started getting ready for the Alma Mater, even though the recessional hymn hadn't even been begun yet. But Father said to stay that way even for "Hail, Holy Queen." So they did. (I'm not a very touchy-feely person, most of the time. Therefore, standing in a line with peoples' arms over my shoulders and my arms on theirs and we're all swaying? Not the best for me.) The Alma Mater was resounding, as usual.

Oh, and I mustn't forget that instead of saying, "Peace be with you," Father told us all to ask, "What do you think God is calling YOU to do?" He also asked that the students join hands across the aisles for the Lord's Prayer. Why are people not told that it is illicit?

Today could have been better, though it could have just as easily been much, much worse. I have yet to find the opportunity to bring up my quest for a good chalice with the campus minister. I plan to do so tomorrow, if possible... but by now, we all know that I will have undoubtedly forgotten by tomorrow afternoon. Alas. I will do my best to remember, however. I promise.

Sadness and Dejection

2009-12-07T21:58:00.002-05:00

It feels like I'm hardly making a dent. If I had my "journal" on my from Sacramental Living, I'd write out the comment from my teacher. As it was, the context was something like this:
My journal:
Teacher response: What's so wrong with that? Why not water down the faith a little?

I find this wrong and upsetting... I think my point is just not being made. What happened to Apostolic Tradition? And, for the record, a lot of Protestant faiths (especially the Revivalist ones) focus more on personal revelation than serving a greater cause. That is, as far as I can tell, counterproductive to Catholicism.

Catechism on the go

2009-11-22T21:40:00.002-05:00

Lately, I haven't had time to do much more than breathe and finish my homework. But as my day goes on, I find myself inserting little Catholic tidbits into conversations... just fun facts that people often don't know about. In small ways, I'm hoping to help catechize a little bit.

I wish I could have a portable, electronic, searchable version of the CCC, the GIRM, and the CCL. That would make my life a lot easier, instead of memorizing everything... stupid brain has a tendency to take facts and digest them so that they are still true but I forget the source. Blah.

If one person a week listens to what I discovered that week, takes it to heart, and passes it on to all his/her friends, I think the school will be much more educated.

This has made my week.

2009-11-11T18:30:00.002-05:00

This article has successfully made me laugh out loud. Only in Italy...

I thought the "swine flu" scare was just a US thing. Guess it isn't!

*walks off, giggling and talking to herself* Automated holy water fonts... defend against swine flu... heheheh.

A thought...

2009-11-07T21:18:00.002-05:00

Next time the student council president starts off the Our Father by asking, "Whose Father?" I should shout something from the following list of possible responses:
- "MY Father!"
- "HIS Father!"
- "YO' MOMMA!" (Complete with attempt at ghetto voice, even though I'm about as black as fresh-laid snow)
- "Who's your daddy?"
- "NO IDEA!"

A battle fought on all fronts

2009-11-07T18:29:00.002-05:00

It really feels like that right now. Not only at school, but I struggle at my own church to find orthodoxy.

Today was the "Family Mass." It was also the Mass before Confirmation on Monday... so I saw lots of people who I don't see there on a regular basis. Sistra and I were on the lector schedule for today. Grace got dragged into being in the choir, and Princess sat on the other end of the pew in front of Sistra and myself. Princess also got convinced to be up front with the other little children during the opening song "Awesome God" (a song which I have not heard in a Catholic church, EVER--it's a Protestant thing), doing what I have deemed "hand jives." They call it "liturgical hand motions," but I figure that they might as well be performing "Born to Hand Jive" from Grease because it's equally as distracting.

The "Spirit Alive" song is still despicable. Our parody is coming along nicely, however, and should be finished soon (at least, I hope so--the verses are being a pain to rewrite). I see no reason to say any more on this topic.

I'm going to skip to the end because I am trying to forget this as quickly as possible. The recessional hymn was "Celebrating Youth," which is some horrible "we/us" song. Oh wait, I forgot. They had hand jives to "Open My Eyes, Lord" during the Presentation of the Gifts. *twitch*

Anyway, I spent much of my Mass reciting Hail Marys to try to stay focused. I think I'll have to really work on that next time.

What saddens me the most about this? People actually think it's okay. They don't understand just how wrong it is. It seems that they are so desperate to break from the "old and outdated" tradition (and Tradition, by the looks of it) that they will do anything to get people in the pews, no matter how irreverent--and all in the name of "modernization," of course. It makes me sad to see young children up at the front and participating in the hand jives, thinking them totally okay. I mean, they were on the altar. Education and catechism is needed, desperately. (I also don't understand how the altar servers can understand that you don't cross in front of the priest but not bow to the Tabernacle when they cross in front of it.)

Of Baseball and Souls

2009-11-03T18:07:00.002-05:00

This one's for you, Mum--I know you read my blog.

I've noticed something that's rather interesting. In the past couple days, there have been more mentions of Halloween and the World Series (I lost count) than of All Saints or All Souls Days (either zero or one). Now, I'm not complaining about the mentions of Halloween or the World Series. They happen to be my favourite events of the year, as a matter of fact--especially when the Yankees are playing in the Series, which they are. <3 However, at a so-called Catholic school, one would think that All Saints and/or All Souls would get a specific mention... and no, I don't mean the middle school that closed.

...I have little else to say on this topic... I mostly wanted to have a fun post title.

Go Yankees~

Holier Than Thou?

2009-10-25T17:14:00.002-04:00

So. I went to Mass twice this weekend. On Saturday, Sistra and I were serving at the 5pm Mass at our local parish. Grace (next sister down after Sistra) was originally supposed to serve, but she got sick. Sick people really shouldn't be on the altar. So I stepped in to serve for her and sat next to Sistra the whole Mass. We really shouldn't sit together... we end up giggling like mad at certain parts. Ex: we are going to rewrite the "Spirit Alive" song to fit a video game series we like (they're called the Tales series... Tales of the Abyss, Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Phantasia--the list goes on) in which characters known as Summon Spirits sometimes appear. So we're rewriting the horrible song with a most irreverent concept in mind... the only difference is that our version is meant to be irreverent, while the one written by the diocese is not. Maybe we'll finish it and sing it with Sistra's best friend and upload it to YouTube. If we do, I'll link to it, just for kicks and giggles.

Then today, Mum and Sistra and Princess (the littlest sister) and I all went to the High Mass at Saint Stan's. If you were there, try guessing who I was! =P I'm pretty distinctive, usually... at least, I like to think so. Anyway, I totally loved it, want to do it regularly, but I must admit... I got so completely lost during the Consecration. I ended up doing what I deem "the Holy Head-Bobbing Prayer"--alternately looking up at the altar and checking the motions of the priest and then looking down into the missal to try to figure out where on earth we are. Thank God for bells.

Fun thing that I learned: getting my hands on a copy of The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton is easier than expected. I have a tendency to forget about Amazon.com when I'm book-shopping... usually, I live and die by Barnes and Noble or the library system: neither of which have an easily accessible copy. Hopefully, I will be getting that book soon... but I won't be reading it until after I'm done with the Lord of the Rings. It's my JRP book (err... books) so I need to finish them.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to try to remember to begin my Quest For A Proper Chalice. Thank you to all the very nice people at Saint Stanislaus who told me about Chesterton and listened to me ramble after Mass!

Inky Blogthon and the Quest for the Holy Grail--err... Proper Chalice... Prelude.

2009-10-23T18:14:00.003-04:00

I've been plotting this since last school year. See, my school uses earthenware for everything at Mass, and it bugs me. So I began a quest, over the summer, to figure out how to get a proper chalice.

First, I asked the people at Saint John's Religious Shoppe in Spencerport. They told me how much it would cost to order one. By my calculations, every student in the school would have to give about a quarter (yes, I mean twenty-five cents) to mission collections on Friday and we'd have enough.

Then I asked the pastor of our parish (he's also a family friend), who told me that I could set something up with the Knights of Columbus where we get a chalice from a priest who has passed away. This would mean that it goes to a good home and we could make it a ceremony to the school, giving us positive PR. (That all looks good to the administration, so I'm keeping it in mind when I pitch this idea.)

My current stumbling blocks are as follows:
1. The campus minister is very nice, but a woman. That should tell you enough about the current orthodoxy of my school.
2. As such, the people there seem to like the concept of earthenware. I'll have to do research so I have references in front of me when I suggest it.
3. They're not really open to orthodox ideas. I don't know why. ...And then they tell ME to be open-minded. *sigh*
4. I hate to have to bring this point up, but chalices have to have some part of them be precious metal. That's a target for theft, right there. So the chalice would have to be locked up. But we have a tabernacle that we don't even use... can you lock the chalice in the tabernacle if the Blessed Sacrament isn't present?

I plan to suggest this idea to our campus minister after school next week. Pray for success!

Disgusted, embarrassed, and frustrated... but victorious, in a small way.

2009-10-19T22:30:00.003-04:00

I am officially ashamed of my parish. Not only did we have to show the CMA video this weekend and support it, my family had two extra kids with us at Mass that day--neither of whom regularly attend this church. I started humming the Sanctus in my head during the detestable Spirit Alive song--I know the whole thing in Latin and I also learned the chant-style tune. Sadly, I missed my cue to respond in Latin at the end... my brain makes the automatic language switch.

(A note: I never watched the CMA video online, so I almost cried when I saw the clips of Saint Stan's.)

Sacramental Living today was... interesting. I think I scared my teacher. Heheh. >=D

See, we were discussing the Rite of Baptism. So we read the rite with different people reading different parts. We had two boys as the parents, two boys as godparents, and myself (I am a girl, just to clarify) as the celebrant, but we were just reading it to grasp an understanding of what goes on in this particular Sacrament of Initiation. The teacher and I batted comments and snippets of discussion back and forth (ex: our people setup would get us totally slammed and shut down by the Holy See) until I finally seemed to make him flustered. I said, "You know, the hard truth is that the Church is exclusive. You're either in it all the way, or you're not in it." This was somewhat blown off. That's how I know I scored a little victory. Happy-dance for Ink~

"Keeping the Spirit Alive" is making my spirit die

2009-10-15T23:21:00.003-04:00

I really, really loathe that song. You know. THAT SONG. The one that is sung in the Rochester diocese to "Keep the Spirit Alive."

The entire song is all about "us" and "we" and, to sum it up in Sistra's pithy phrasing, "Look at us, we're so great! We're helping other people, blah blah blah this song is not about God at ALL even though it really should be." She added, "It's a song about money. I hate that song."

For those that don't know it, I'll quote the refrain.

Keeping the spirit alive
It will help our faith to thrive
In gratitude we're called to give
So those that need can love and live
We'll spread the news that God is good
We're keeping the spirit alive.

Honestly, I don't understand how giving money to people in need allows them to love and live. They're already loving and living--it's human nature. Maybe so they can love and live a bit more comfortably... and wait, since when does giving money to the DoR even ensure that the money is going to a good place?

Another point: spreading the news that God is good usually involves, you know, evangelization. It's such a scary word to DoR leaders, it seems... it's not bad to tell people about your faith. I do it all the time to correct errors on the part of teachers. Believe me, they happen more frequently than I'd care to admit.

They call it a Low Mass, but really it's Higher than most Masses in the diocese

2009-10-04T17:35:00.006-04:00

Mum and I went to the Latin Mass at Saint Stanislaus today. It was absolutely wonderful.

I'll start from the beginning, since I'd never been to St. Stan's before. The church awed me upon my entrance... built in the style of an old, traditional cathedral (in the shape of a cross, very tall, and extremely ornate) and with amazingly detailed stained-glass windows. I liked the ceiling the best, though. It had stars on it. I like stars. However, next time I go there, I need to go all around the church and look to see if my patron saint is in one of the windows... I'm sure she is. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary--if anyone is a parishioner there (or just knows if she is there or not), could you comment in and tell me? I'm curious.

Oh, and I'm wondering about what looks like three tabernacles in the front of the church. Does anyone know the reason for those? They fascinated me.

Anyway! The organ was beautiful in all its near-symmetry (I couldn't help but turn around to look at it when I heard it)... though I had a bit of trouble following along in the Latin-English booklet. If the priest had used better diction, it may have been easier. People just don't understand the power of good diction, unless they're in theatre (in which case they must learn or fail). The "sermon," (as it was called in the booklet--I'm so used to calling it a homily!) was intriguing. It reminded me of one of the countless saint reports I've done over the years, except this one was on Saint Francis of Assisi. He was a pretty neat guy.

Overall, I really enjoyed Mass, though it was interesting to note that the congregation is much less involved. And I'd never received Communion on the tongue before (being very much post-Vatican-II and therefore raised in the tradition of receiving it in the hand).

More Notes:
--I need to get a chapel veil or a nice hat.
--Nobody wears short sleeves.
--Next time, I should wear a skirt instead of school pants... though my socks and tights were in the dirty clothes, so I was pretty desperate.
--I really, really want to just spend time in the church and explore all its artwork and architecture. It's beautiful.

Next on my list is to see when I can attend a High Mass. Ooh, and I wonder--does any community in the Rochester diocese do Mass entirely in Gregorian chant? That would be SO awesome.

You gotta fight! For your right! To be Caaaaatholic!

2009-08-21T01:27:00.003-04:00

Forgive the Beastie Boys ripoff. My mom has been introducing Sistra and myself to music she likes.

This is a call to prayer! The Rochester diocese has been closing too many schools and churches lately. I can't count how many friends I have whose histories have been erased by the closing of their schools--especially since All Saints closed.

The East Greece/Charlotte Region Planning Committe (or whatever they call themselves) are considering cutting down on the number of Masses per week. This is undoubtedly going to deter people from going to Mass, not make them want to go more often! One of the things I find most excellent about being Catholic is telling my Protestant friends that I can go to Mass on Saturday night and it still "counts" (for lack of a better word). The Baptists, especially, are amazed by this.

Go to Mass every weekend and Holy Day. Say rosaries at home. And if you can't make Mass at your local parish, then go to another one! Research Mass times in the diocese. We've got to fill those pews!

Some time in the future, look for "Mass Hopping" posts. I am planning to, once I get my driver's license, go to as many Masses as I possibly can in one weekend. Call me crazy, but I want to be a body in the pew. I want to hear different takes on the Gospel, and I want to celebrate my faith as much as possible. And if I come home from a particularly inspiring Mass, rest assured that it will be out here.

If a planning committee "recommends" or "suggests" that your local school or church be closed, start writing letters. Write to the bishop, write to the Vatican--write to whomever you can think of. The Rochester diocese must be saved.

You know it's not a good sign when the pew beneath your butt vibrates

2009-07-19T20:32:00.002-04:00

I absolutely, desperately need to go to Confession. At least, I feel like it, since I just got back from the LifeTeen Mass at Saint Leo's. In reference to the post title (do you think I'd write something like that and not embellish upon it?), it's true--the pews were vibrating because the music was so loud.

Let me go through this Mass, step-by-step. There was a visiting priest from Kenya at Saint Leo's Catholic Church. Saint Leo's is not my regular parish, but this weekend was one of those weekends. You know, the ones where your Saturday is insane so you can't go to Mass that evening, and then you're all so exhausted on Sunday that getting up before noon is unthinkable. Frankly, I was hoping to go to the 1:30 pm Trinitine Mass at Saint Stanislaus. My family and I all agreed that it would have been much more spiritually satisfying.

Anyway, I like having priests from Africa visit. They usually have interesting stories, and their accents make me giggle a bit because they're just so...different. Not that different is bad--I actually find it quite intriguing. But I digress. Upon walking in, the church is small and sort of homely. Its vaulted ceilings are a bit lower than what I'm used to--ah well. What caught my eye most of all, however, was the large amount of young families. I smiled at the concept of having more young churchgoers, though the back five pews or so on each side of the main aisle were cordoned off with yarn (probably to make the congregation sit more towards the front).

Up in the front of the sanctuary area was a kid with a laptop (to the left of the altar and "downstage" of the steps leading up to it) and a group of people with instruments and music stands. We're not talking harps, organs, and pianos... we're talking electric guitars, drums, keyboards, and a tambourine. Uh-oh. The thoughts going through my head went something like this: Maybe they're just trying to put a modern spin on all the hymns. Hey, let's check the hymns. [Here, I proceeded to flip through the hymnal and find the numbers displayed on the board in the front of the church.] ...oh gosh, the last hymn is How Great Thou Art. I hate that song, it's a funeral song! (Where I used to live, I used to altar serve funerals all the time. That hymn is a Southern favourite for funerals.) How are they going to rock-ify it? It's usually a dirge. Hm. I bet the laptop is for a slideshow during the homily, since it's an African priest. Maybe he'll show us pictures of his village.

The music started, and we stood. Sistra, the sister next to me (and second-oldest in the family), leaned over and commented, "It feels like a rock concert." Up in front, the title of the first song was prominently displayed in garish colours on a Powerpoint slideshow. The slide changed to the lyrics. What happened to regular hymns?

My immediate reaction was to pull up the hood on my coat (which was sitting at home, since it's a bit too obnoxious to wear to church). So I took my hair out of its clip and covered up my ears, which were probably bright red. I wanted to just curl up and hide in a hole somewhere.

Twice during the service, I broke down and cried. I'm not usually much of a crier, but the so-called Mass was making me extremely upset. The first was during the Allelujah. There's a very peppy Allelujah that goes "Halleh-halleh-halleh--looo-oooo-yah!" They used to play it at my old church, and it lightened the mood but was still rather respectful. I don't know how they pulled it off there, but it worked. Here... with an electric guitar and drums, they added hand motions. Clapping on the "halleh-halleh-halleh" parts and twirling hands/fingers in the air on the "looo-oooo-yah" part. That did it for me. I made a complete fool of myself by crying during that stupid song... alas.

My second crying incident has some more reason and backstory to it. Earlier in the year, a senior from my school died in a tragic car accident. To make a long story short, at the funeral, a beautiful song called "Breathe" was sung by the choir. They have not played it at a school Mass ever since. Sure enough, the first Communion hymn at this wannabe-Mass was that song. I was sobbing within seconds, flashing back to images of Saint Charles Borromeo's beautiful stained-glass windows and the feeling of people pressing in on me from all sides. It was only God's grace that helped me recover quickly enough to actually make it through the line for the Eucharist.

During the Our Father, they called all the youth up to the front. None of my sisters nor I went up. And I've figured out that I know something is way wrong when I stand up to say the Nicene Creed with the congregation and the first words coming to mind are, "I confess to Almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters..."

Overall, I'm highly disappointed in this. I don't understand the attraction to a Mass that is more rock concert than religious celebration. And -- a question to anyone who knows -- what's the official ruling on designs on the Eucharistic Host (if there even is one)? I was under the impression that the little round ones had to be stamped with some sort of cross, but I could be very far wrong.

Rosaries and their Proper Usage

2009-04-28T20:21:00.003-04:00

You'd think that at a Catholic school, students would know how to properly respect rosaries. And I'd hope that students would understand that a rosary is not a necklace.

I'm afraid that I am seeing far too many rosaries-as-necklaces. Today, I only saw one, but one is too many! A rosary is a set of prayer beads. Often, they are blessed. They are not intended to be worn. Rosary-style necklaces are okay, so long as they do not contain a counted number of beads and have a cross on the end. Seriously, though, wearing rosaries as jewelry is not cool. It secularizes something that should be holy.

Even in the news, rosaries are being worn as accessories.

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/17730/rosaries-fashion

Doesn't that just make you feel sick? I'd like to draw your attention to a particular design that got a note in the article:

Karmes often mixes religious symbols from various faiths in her designs. One of her rosarylike pieces contains an evil eye in sapphires and diamonds.

Her goal, she said, is never to disrespect the religious tradition from which she borrows. “I think it is exposing the religious symbol without mocking it,” she said.

How does an evil eye in a rosary not mock multiple religious symbols? A rosary is used to pray and to become closer to God. Evil is not even in the picture.

This world needs to sort out its priorities and learn some respect, or I just might toss a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church at the heads of people who call themselves "respectful of religion."

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

2009-04-16T11:42:00.003-04:00

Today in theology class, we did some research on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. It was interesting to see other peoples' views on the parable itself.

http://www.explorefaith.org/forgive/muesse.html

The above article mirrors my thoughts on the parable after reading it in class. I never did understand why most people related best to the prodigal son, or why, as students, we were introduced from the perspective of the son and how God will always take us back. I mean, I've been pretty devout my whole life.

Here's what's particularly special about seeing the parable from the perspective of the older son: the father told the elder son that anything in his estate was open to him. The elder son merely never thought to ask. So those of us who feel as if we have done our darndest to stay close to God for as long as we can remember? We might be forgetting God's graces. And forgetting God's grace defeats the purpose of following Him, does it not? We follow God because He has granted us His grace. We cannot ever forget that. We must remember, also, that He is always with us and hears our pleas for help.

Definitely Not the Beginning

2009-04-14T18:32:00.002-04:00

Hi. I'm Ink. This is... I think it's my third blog under this username. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that I live in Rochester, New York. I'm a high schooler here, at a well-known Catholic high school. And we have major problems. Sure, we've got cliques and bad teachers and mean teachers and dumb kids and obnoxious kids and all the wonderful fun things that come along with high school. I'll accept those. No... our problems are doctrine-based. As I've said before to many of my friends (who agree with me): half the teachers and the majority of the students wouldn't know orthodox Catholicism if it popped out of a manhole and took a bite out of their behinds (if I may steal a phrase from Artemis Fowl. Thank you, Mr. Colfer!).

This is where I go through things I see every day, all the time, and nitpick these things. The Rochester diocese needs help, and the way I see it, it's my duty as a Catholic to do my homework, read up on illicit practices, and make sure everyone is informed. After all... ignorance of the law is no excuse in a court of law, right? So why should it be any different for God?