OK, so...the Church abuse crisis

Not a nice topic for a Sunday afternoon. Not a nice topic ever.

I am soooooo angry, and so grieved, sad, horrified--there are hardly words. I can't say a prayer, read a word of Scripture, or hear a Mass reading without thinking of this still-mushrooming scandal. I want to say so much, but a good deal of it is not remotely charitable. Let's just say I find the image of Jesus cleansing the temple, corded whip in hand, somewhat comforting at this moment.

But there's a lot of grief to deal with too. And don't think our Lord isn't feeling it. His Church (his holy Bride) is being ripped apart: figuratively and potentially literally. Not least by wicked, lying, despicable, hypocritical shepherds (may they all be called to account--every last one of them), but also by us. You and me. Because we are all sinners and that's what sin does: divide and destroy.

Have you watched the Passion of the Christ lately? I did last Lent, and it made me cry, especially the scene where Jesus, shaking with pain, embraces his Cross. He is embracing it now. Will you carry it with Him, or will you stand in the street mocking and shouting?

On the Via Dolorosa, he embraced our sins and carried them to Calvary. Maybe we can't do much about the sins that have been committed by our pastors, but we can do our best to ensure that Christ's burden is not any heavier than it has to be. Our only option at this point is sainthood, ie. striving for holiness in every moment of our lives. And we can only do this by remaining in prayer and by staying as close to Christ as possible. I believe the rest will unfold as it should. Justice will be done, if not on earth, then surely in the hereafter.

In the meantime, here's a good read by Fr. Raymond de Souza. 

Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

This is where I need to be in my prayers.

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I've mentioned this artist before (and I will keep doing it until everyone I know has at least given her music a try), but if you want to be blessed and uplifted and refreshed and energized, LISTEN TO AUDREY ASSAD. This song is appropriate, because it's mid-April, and we are still sitting under three solid feet of snow. So try not to laugh when this video begins with the "Spring" quotation from Shelley. He obviously had never heard of Saskatchewan.

On a somber (and more hopeful) note, the song and video remind me of death and resurrection. I'm thinking of the men, boys and Dayna who "woke up in April" to eternal life, and to the broken hearts they left behind. I am praying for every one of you.  #BroncosStrong.


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Deadlines and other necessities of life

Today is music lesson day. Not much time for blogging. 

So true. It was true in university; it was true for freelancing, columns and speech-writing. It will likely remain true for future projects (evidently).
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Promises, promises

Not that I want to pick on Mr. Gore especially (cough); after all, he's not the only alarmist, but it's possible that he's made the most money off his fear-mongering. (Oh wait, mybad; that's money made from fossil fuels.) And I have just one teeny question to ask him: WHEN IS THE GLOBAL WARMING GOING TO START? and CAN IT START IN SASKATCHEWAN, PLEASE? Pretty please?

Here it is, March, and yes, I know March always has unpredictable weather (heck, so does January, February, April, and so on.  Do my classmates remember the blizzard of '82 that happened on the day of our high school graduation on the last weekend in May?) At any rate, there is such a thing as "normal and "seasonal" temperatures for this time of year, and -26 degrees Centrigrade is NOT IT.

I don't mind the snow--truly I don't, except when it's all over the highway and makes you cancel appointments or makes it dangerous to drive. With the fresh fall of snow, I might even get out to use the snowshoes that I received for Christmas.

But the cold: I can no longer stand the cold. Not in March. Please Mr. Gore, let loose the Dogs of Warming ... or at least open up one of your many vacation homes  to winter-refugees, so we can get away from this chilly misery. Some of us can't afford tropical vacations, because we're trying to keep up with the cost of not freezing to death and stuff.

Too funny not to share.
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From our Killer Headlines files

And my adjective is meant as a sad and tragic irony. I read this article, but I didn't really need to, because the headline says it all.

Deputy Who Didn't Enter Parkland School Defends Himself 

Well, yes, that's rather self-evident, isn't it? He didn't go in because he needed to defend himself, not the kids and staff who died.

Protocol, orders, yadda yadda. Law enforcement is hard; heroism even harder. My nephew and brother are city police officers who have faced danger and threats and death and the whole nine yards. Serve and protect. May God have mercy on those who died, and those who have to live with grief and shame.
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Can cheesecake go bad?

I can't even believe I'm asking that question. I bought this the first week of February in honour of our granddaughter's birthday, and since there are only now four people living in my house and none of them are toddlers (it's SO quiet!) and we've been taking turns being sick with phlegmy coughs, stomach issues and so forth... that here we are, a WEEK LATER, and there are still some slices in the fridge. And, as Miss P#5 lugubriously lamented when she was four, "It'th Lent." So should I keep it till Sunday, or should I freeze it? 
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The fitness files: husband-wife Christmas presents

My hubby and I bought snowshoes for each other for Christmas. We did this for a few reasons: 

• both of us (and I in particular) need to be in better physical condition
• we wanted to spend more couple-time together (and how better to get a man committed than make him invest some money in the scheme? Mind you, we bought the kits at Costco)
• we wanted an incentive to get out and do some winter exercise and enjoy all that sunshine and crisp fresh air
• snowshoeing seems safer than most other winter sports, and it's something we can continue into our retirement years. A few years back, I fell and dislocated my thumb by (wait for it) cross-country skiing--the Nordic kind!  So I need something fairly fool- and klutz-proof.

I envisioned that we'd be doing this come December 26: 

The fantasy

And yet, here we are January 17:

The reality

The snowshoe kits have not moved more than four feet from the Christmas tree. Maybe the latter part of January will be kinder to us--and I mean that literally. No one can have "fun" with outdoor winter sports when the wind chill is -37 C.

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Poor January gets such a bad rap

Rightly or wrongly? Most people I know hate January--at least the ones who live in the Northern Hemisphere. It's cold, dark, and post-Christmas depressive. I don't know about you, but come January, I usually find myself 10 pounds heavier, lots of dollars poorer, still tired from the holidays (moms don't usually "rest" much over Christmas, even though we do enjoy it, so don't feel guilty, kids!), still wondering where the previous 12 months (or 45 years) went, and feeling just a bit overwhelmed about starting a new year (it's depressing when you get depressed over having no Resolutions, because ultimately you know that they'll end up where the Resolutions from the last 50+ years went).

But you know what? The sun is rising earlier; life is pretty much what you make it, and God is watching over all of it, and willing to hold our hands if we let him. Just don't forget that he's there. One good thing about time going quickly is that January is 32.258064516% over. That's about one-third. The inspirational quotation below seems to be for Jan. 1, but really, you can use it any day of the year. Because, Behold, God makes all things new.

PS,  you are less likely to have a good year if you spend January like this, so make a different plan:

Just how desperately do I miss Nordic Thoughts?

This desperately. I've taken to visiting Danish blogs. And Swedish blogs, and any blog that can give me the same feeling of sublime beauty that Nordic Thoughts and A Polar Bear's Tale once did. Don't bother searching those names: the blogs have been removed and the names have been taken over by other bloggers. (Cue soft and pathetic weeping.)

One such blog is NORDINGÅRDEN

One of the lovely photos at
NORDINGÅRDEN

The blog's subtitle is: LIVET PÅ LANDET I TVÅ TORP-INREDNING, TRÄDGÅRD, MAT & VIN
Which roughly means: "Country life in... decorations, garden, food & wine" (Well, I had figured out the "Vin" part without Google Translate. Thanks, Latin!)

Country life, Decor, Garden, Food and Wine--check, check, check, check and check. I can't speak Danish, but I can look at the pictures.

I also like this Nordic Design blog. And I occasionally watch travel videos from Nordic countries. I hear they are very expensive to visit, but I think it would be tremendously cool (metaphorically) to spend a holiday in one or more of these places. You can keep your Las Vegas. I want to go to Iceland. 

Say what you will about "repressive" Victorian society.

And I'll tell you that some behaviours damn well NEED to be repressed (hello, Quebec! Freedom of speech isn't one of them). A Victorian gentleman would not leer at a woman, never mind be verbally vulgar, grope her, or worse. Far worse. What on earth to make of stories like this? Happening in "civilized" Europe? God save us from those who do not respect the dignity of the human person.
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"Now we have 'airheads'"

Lib-lefty politician: Vote for me and you will get lots of free stuff!
Electorate: Yay! 

I feel so vindicated (and affirmed) when I discover I've been thinking the same thoughts as a smart person. Of course, it's a tragic thing to feel affirmed when cultural and civilizational collaspe is in the offing. I really hadn't planned to post about the election, because it's too depressing. (Like Mrs. Beazly, I'm planning not to watch the news for the next decade or so.)

However, if you need our new Prime Minister (T-who-cannot-be-named) summed up, look no further: David Warren's "The Triumph of Drivel." The money quotes are just too numerous, so you should read the whole thing.

Much as I despised his Liberal predecessors, they also knew what a budget was, and could discern differences between large and small numbers. [...]

In addition to snowboarding, his experience includes nightclub bouncer, and teaching high school in Vancouver. To many (me for instance), his father was a devil in human flesh, his mother demonstrably insane, yet the lad was not really exposed to politics until it came into his head, or into the heads of Liberal Party organizers, that thanks to his family connexion, he could probably get elected to Parliament, in Montreal. This happened in 2007; he now has approximately eight years of bewilderment under his belt. [...]

His sincerity shines when it comes to a small range of policy enthusiasms, such as the legalization of marijuana and brothels, and he is visibly convinced that peace is much nicer than war. [...]

So how did this happen? Mr. Warren explains:

As I’ve mentioned before, the overwhelming majority of the general, voting population have been morally and intellectually debilitated — “idiotized” is my preferred term — by post-modern media and education, and by spiritual neglect within 

Amen, brother. 

Hands-down, Theo Caldwell wins the prize for the most engaging epithet: "ridiculous ballerina," but when he's not being funny, he too is struggling to wrap his head around how the majority of Canadians can be so utterly clueless as to elect someone even more shallow and incompetent than Barack Obama (audio for this vid not great, unfortunately).

At this point, I really am unsure whether to go gently into that horrific night, or to rage rage against the dying of the light. The latter is so exhausting. Perhaps there is a third way. If I wish to retain my sanity and my hope, I must continue to believe it. 

Laura Rosen Cohen's advice (snippet below) is remarkably similar to that of Bl. Mother Teresa: "Deal with what is at your feet." 

Thus, my post-election advice:
In my view, the important thing in times like these is to focus on the micro. Let the Liberals expend their hot air (and your money of course) on the Big Picture Save the Planet stuff and let them really knock themselves out. Focus on the small stuff because the small stuff is really the big stuff. 
Keep raising your children well. Speak up for what you believe in. Take on the battles that you can, (not what you can't). Live well, tell jokes. Tell your family and your friends you love them. Sing. Dance. Paint. Pray. Give thanks. Give hugs.
It's always darkest before the dawn

Amen, sister. 

Time to shower and get ready to take the kids to music lessons. Jesus is our saviour, but Chopin, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven certainly help.

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The Gospel According to...

Lovely vintage wedding photos here.

Ashley Madison: "Life is Short; Have an Affair."

God: "Eternal Damnation is Long: Maybe Don't."

Oh, those poor Ashley Madison customers!! They signed up in good faith, assuming their secrets would be faithfully protected; that the adultery website would be a safe, secure, place. That their secrets would stay that way...forever (or at least till Death did them part!). Their hope and faith in Ashley has been BETRAYED! Those poor... oh wait.

Like that brilliant Matt Walsh guy says, Cheating on Your Spouse is not a Mistake.

"stupid enough to register their names in a database of adulterers compiled by a company whose very business is dishonesty..."

May God have mercy on Western Civ. 
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It's almost as if they KNEW

...at the T-shirt factory that the Riders were going to have a 0-6 (wins/losses) start to the season. Keeping calm is just about all we fans have left.

"The one thing we have to do, we have to correct our negatives," said head coach Corey Chamblin. Well, Corey, thank goodness football isn't ruled by the laws of mathematics/integers. You can't actually go below zero.
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So sad: good-bye, Gilbert Blythe

Jonathan Crombie has died.  Thank you for sharing your art with the world. May God rest your soul.

Why we don't have ads on our blog.

I suppose at some point we might, but for now, I just find this kind of thing scary. This is a copy of the sidebar of another Catholic web page, which need not be named, because it's not their fault. I'm not sure you have any control over the ads that pop up on your site. But when I'm researching saints and stuff, I just don't need to see what's at the bottom. In fact I never need to see it, not even by accident in the bedroom mirror. (Oh and please don't take the quiz. The photo is there to make a point, not to tempt you.)

Do you pray for your priest? Often Sometimes Not really    See Results    Poll Archive Most Popular    READ        SEARCHED      E_MAILED    1. Jesus Breaks the Habit of Putting Limits on Our Love 2. Don Alvaro, witness of fidelity 3. Vatican warns against misinterpreting international law, human rights 4. Pope Francis: Satan Seduces Us by Disguising Evil as Good 5. HOPE: Here is your part 6. St. Francis of Paola, Saint Ebba the Younger and Companions 7. Introduction Synod of Bishops on the Family 2014 8. The Gift of Grandparents 9. Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time 10. Bl Mother Teresa of Calcutta; St Bertinus; St Lawrence of Justinian

Abandon the one true God

And idolatry comes tripping along, in many forms. You'd think this would be self-evident, but we live in strange times.

Don't make food the most important focus of your life.

For so many of us, no matter where we sit on the spectrum, it's easier said than done. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. One man's kale is another man's triple fudge brownie cake.
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Would you like to post a comment on DOH?

Good luck with that! I'm so frustrated by the way this blog server "functions" (not). I can't tell you how often people have told me (either by phone, email, or in person) that they have tried to leave comments on the blog and not been able to. And being computer-illiterate, I have no idea what to do about it.

I mean, what part of "Anyone" does Blogger.com NOT understand? Mrs. Beazly, maybe it's time to find another server/host/thingy.

Who can comment?

Anyone - includes Anonymous Users   Registered User - includes OpenID   User with Google Accounts   Only members of this blog

George Orwell, call the head office of your Hymnody Division

Yo, God, I did you a favour and came to church; 

you're welcome.

Anthony Esolen. Oy, but this guy is brilliant. And funny (to wit: "Muddlesome broke out in hives at leadeth and feedeth.") He had me laughing out loud at, "Fetch the smelling salts, Nellie..."

"Rescuing Hymnody from Stupidity":

To Muddlesome, “the vernacular” meant the colloquial: an office memo ending with an amen. That’s all. He’s no linguist; just as the people who vandalized our churches were not painters or sculptors. He can’t imagine that a mother tongue might “contain multitudes,” including the register of the sacred. He’s a subtractor. If peasants want to be courtly in their oral poetry and folk hymns, too bad for them. Drag them into Future Church for their own good.

 So he had to eliminate those pronouns...

Thus openeth the first Can of Worms.

And my, how far those worms can travel. I actually heard an ordained personage (who has been through like, a hundred years of university and everything) say (out loud) from the ambo: "God calls us to Godself." (Not "himself". Godself.) So allergic was he to masculine pronouns, even referring to GOD THE FATHER (is Jesus' testimony in that regard not enough? Gee, I don't think the chain of authority for Christianity goes any higher than that, but whatever), that instead of uttering a grammatically correct statement, he was willing to sound as though he was having a stroke. But I digress. That was a homily, not a hymn. But church "music" has fared no differently. Read Mr Esolen's article if you share my frustration that we began the century* with hymns like this:

 To Jesus Christ, our Sov'reign King,
Who is the world's salvation,
All praise and homage do we bring,
And thanks and adoration.

Refrain:
Christ Jesus Victor, Christ Jesus Ruler!
Christ Jesus, Lord and Redeemer!

2. Thy reign extend, O King benign,
To ev'ry land and nation,
For in Thy kingdom, Lord divine,
Alone we find salvation.
(Refrain)

3. To Thee and to Thy Church, great King,
We pledge our hearts' oblation,
Until before Thy throne we sing,
In endless jubilation.

--by Msgr Martin Hellreigel

ex-pat German priest, *1941, so... a comment on Fascism

And ended the century with campfire songs like this:

Thank you, God, for giving us us.
Thank you, God, for giving us us.
Thank you, God, for giving us us.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiii-ght where we are!
--ex-Rev. Carey Landry

Peace out.


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From our 'Bureaucracy is a Tool of the Devil" file

Cardinal Pell's reforms at the Vatican, and how the first round of resistance against him failed. (I hope he wears a Kevlar vest.)

But calumny, alas, is what happens when people who have long thought of the Church as their private property, and perhaps even their private piggy-bank, run into a determined and incorruptible reformer who understands that financial probity is essential to our being the “Church in permanent mission” to which Pope Francis has called us.

H/t Peter R on Facebook
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I honestly don't know where to file this

Under which DOH category does this story belong? 

Killer Headlines?
Beyond Satire?
Too Sad?
Dear Lord Jesus Come and End the World Because We're Mostly Nuts?

We don't (yet) have that last category, but I do actually pray it as a prayer sometimes when I am overcome by the evil and foolishness in the world, and this story has both. Ye gods, talk about First World problems.

US woman convicted of buttock-injection death (BBC News, hence "tyres")

These types of convictions are rare - the number of fatalities from backstreet buttocks injections is still low. But more people are opting for cheap, yet unregulated procedures in their quest for a bigger behind.

It can lead to horrific consequences. Some victims have been left maimed and disfigured after they put their trust in fake doctors who injected them with all kinds of substances including Krazy Glue, tyre sealant and silicone.

[...]
Many people are too embarrassed to come forward when things go wrong - there's still a huge stigma when it comes to admitting you've had enhancement on your behind.

If you want a swollen behind, there are probably a lot of people out there who would give you a good kick in the pants for free.
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