Journeys of a Catholic Poster Girl

So, if you were to think, “Gee, I bet a parish called St. Patrick does some awesome stuff for St. Patrick’s Day,” you’d be so correct.

Tonight we had Mass, the litany of the Irish Saints, a processing with drums and pipes corps, and and Irish tea (with beer, natch), food and music.

It was a great night.

The Mass was beautiful–a delicious reprieve from the austerity of Lent. There were four celebrants–the three Friars of St. Pat’s (our pastor, Fr. La Casse, was the main celebrant), plus a Byzantine Catholic priest! I had never seen Byzantine Catholics before. There were two of them–one chanted (yes, chanted) the Gospel and helped concelebrate. The other–was he a friar? Not sure. They wore tall black hats and beautiful golden vestments. It sort of resembled a cope over a cassock (both gold). (And I’m sure I’m getting all this wrong, but it’s my first time seeing them and I know nothing about the Byzantine liturgy. Zilch.)

The choir did a glorious Kyrie and Communion hymn (Exultate), and sang the Litany nicely. One of the St. Pat’s priests gave the homily, and he focused on Christian Unity–the need to “breathe with both lungs”, as JPII said–and how, no matter where we come from, we are all Catholic, Irish or not. We are one at the Eucharistic Table. (It was a really great homily.)

There were tons of altar servers, incense, and the gold procession crucifix, carried by an older altar server who wore white gloves. For the processional, four of the older altar boys carried the large statue of St. Patrick around the outside of the church. (About two blocks). Good thing they didn’t drop him! The music (pipes and drums) were provided by the Shamrock Club of Columbus. My mom was really into that; she was a bagpiper in high school.

After the torchlight procession (it’s a beautiful night here, perfect weather), we went into Patrick Hall for the tea party. Irish music was playing from a live band, which made me think of both the third class dance scene from Titanic and the book Angela’s Ashes, all in one. I had some soda bread (yum!) and some Harp lager (of course, I am Irish.) The hall was packed, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Some people brought Irish hats and almost everyone wore green.

The Mass tonight also provided a plenary indulgence. We had to go to Mass today at St. Pat’s, go to confession either before or after the Mass (mom and I went last week), and pray for the intentions of the Pope.
A side note: St. Pat’s has a monopoly on the Cute Kid Market. There are so many of them. There was a family near us tonight that had six boys (I think) and they were so cute! It’s like a Cutest Baby Contest every week in there.

This was the first St. Patrick’s day I felt I properly celebrated–it was so much fun, so nice to sing hymns and the Gloria and party during Lent. There were flowers on the altar, the gold vestments were out, and we had an opening hymn. (As opposed to our usual chant opener during Lent/Advent).

And now I’m eating Guinness Cake.

Gosh, I Love being Irish.

I received a new book.

No! No! I did not cheat.

It’s from the Duck’s Cottage Book Club. (My love of Duck’s Cottage, from my first visit to the Outer Banks in August 2008, is very strong). Every other month, Jamie, the cottage’s book buyer, sends us a new selection she’s chosen for us. It can be anything–last year’s selections ranged from Lost on Planet China to a Swedish novel recently translated into English.

In my mailbox today was the March/April selection, Cutting For Stone, by Abraham Verghese.

I opened the bubble wrap envelope carefully and savored the new book. I read the letter Jamie included, telling us a bit about it and why it was her choice for her. I gently paged through the reviews. I might have smelled the pages.

This is what happens when you haven’t had a new book in 21 days. You really, really enjoy new ones.

I think that was also part of my Lenten abstinence–to realize what I have, and how pleasurable it is. God made everything good, Genesis tells us. I love reading. Books, and reading, are not inherently evil. But loving them above all else? That’s a problem.

We’re halfway through Lent, and I haven’t really had the desire to go book shopping (although it has crossed my mind a few times). But today I realized how much I love a new book.

A few things, for our second Lenten Friday. First, a poem:

Lenten Illuminations

By Siegfried Sassoon

Not properly Catholic, some might say, to like it best

When no one’s in the cool white church than a few frequent

These sober-skied vocational afternoons in Len.

There’s sanctity in stillness, let is be confessed,

For one addicted much to meditationment–

One who has found this church a place full of replies

Given to what, wordless in him, asked that hearts be learned

A Kempis lessons; toward the invisible, new eyes

In more than mediational consciousness be turned.

This afternoon it seemed unconvert self came in,

Puzzled to perceive one at the altar rails, unminding;

Could this be he–hereafter offered to him to win,

And faith revealed wheretoward he pilgrim’d without finding?

O unforeknowing Ego, visitant in thought,

How were you thus the captive of that banished being?

Was it ordained–the long delayed deliverance brought–

The mercy that made it plain your path?… O unforeseeing

Sad self, let’s be together, now fortunate in freeing.

* A blog friend of mine is having another baby! Will you please pray for her, the baby, and her family during this wonderful time?  Thanks much.

*How goes the Lenten book abstinence? It goes. This week was hard–the new Jodi Picoult book came out, and usually I head to the bookstore and devour the book before the sun is down the day it’s released. This year it will be in my Easter basket, so I’ll get it as soon as I can get it, post-Lent. I find that I’m not as drawn to the stores as usual, and a big part of my book buying was when I was feeling down, or wanted a treat, or whatever. I bought books because books make me happy. And they do make me happy, but now I can’t spirit away a lunch hour looking for some new balm. I have to make do with what I have, or (preferrably) go to Church and find True Consolation.

I’m also making a (small) dent in my books-to-read pile, and re-reading some books that I haven’t read in a few years. I want to clean out my library and it’s good to re-read and see it a certain book is still worth keeping. Right now I’m almost halfway through Master and Margarita, which I bought in early February. It’s really good and I want to finish it this weekend. It’s not the sort of book you can dip in and out of at will.

Transfiguration, by Raphael

(the above is one of my favorite paintings. Isn’t it lovely?)

The transfiguration is one of those strange Bible events, isn’t it? There’s Jesus, on Mount Tabor, with James, John and Peter. And all of a sudden, Moses and Elijah appear, and Jesus’ true glory shines forth; he is transfigured. It had to be an incredible, if somewhat strange, moment for the three apostles.

Peter wants the moment to last forever. But Jesus tells him they have to go back down the mountain.

I feel this way the end of Mass. We’re there, we’re (hopefully) at peace with our neighbors, we are thinking of God. It’s a good, quiet place to be. And then the dismissal. “Go.” We have to leave?

Yes. Because life is beyond the mountain, the sanctuary, the retreat house. We must take what we have learned, and go.

It’s similar to the Gospel we heard last week. Jesus goes up into the mountains for forty days. The Devil tempts him. He resists, and even though He’s God, I think he came down from the mountain stronger, more prepared to face His Passion. This week, it’s another mountain that He’s climbing. And again, He comes down. I hope the apostles were stronger after seeing God in His true glory.

During Lent, we too “go away for awhile” into a sacred space. We give things up, we pray more, in order to become stronger in our faith, and closer to God. We give up the things that are not “God” and fill our hearts and minds with Him.

We all get these transfigurations–these glimpses of God’s glory–in our lives. Can we sustain the wonder and awe once we’re off the mountain?

Before Lent began, I had started reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I was a bit late to this book party–they’ve been out for awhile–but the release of the movie piqued my interest, and I love JA lit. So I picked up The Lightening Thief, the first of the five-book series, and read it. It was great. I began looking for the others, but book two was sold out everywhere I looked, and I wasn’t going to buy the rest and just have them hang around.

Then Lent started. And I didn’t have book 2.

Over the past two days I’ve been making trips to Riverside Hospital, near OSU’s campus, for a thryoid scan. On the way, I pass a Barnes and Noble, and the Borders I frequent is a few exits up from the hospital. In any other season, these medical trips would have concluded with book runs. But…I gave up book buying for Lent.

And that includes Percy Jackson.

It’s been harder than I thought. Whenever I pass a bookstore I think, “Oh, I bet they have Sea of Monsters!” And then, “Um, Emily? No books, remember?”

It’s only the second day and I’ve had book buying thoughts at least 10 times.

Apparently I really, really needed to give this up.

Turn Away From Sin and Be Faithful To The Gospel

So, our Lenten journey begins again. From last year’s Palm Sunday branches, we get ashes–a stark memento mori.

I won’t get to attend Mass today; I had a nuclear medicine scan, so I’m sort of radioactive. While I was waiting for the drugs to take effect (read: sitting at Riverside for four hours), I got a lot of reading done. A lot of time for prayer and reflection.

I read the Hours–the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer.

I read My JPII book of reflections and my Magnificat Lenten Companion.

I finished Signs of Life, Scott Hahn’s newest book (that’s been on the ‘to read’ pile forever).

And I read the Mass readings from my Magnificat.

In short, there was a lot of reading,a nd a lot of time for it. A lot of time for prayer. And in a hospital setting, prayer is pretty important.

The lounge where I was waiting was near the surgical waiting room. A few pre-op patients were wandering about, in their gowns and toting IV poles. It can be a long wait back in pre-op. (I had my CI implanted at this hospital, so the surgery areas were familiar to me.) All of those people needed extra prayers today.

A friend of mine was having a biopsy today. I prayed for her.

If I hadn’t been “waiting around for four hours” , would I have had time for all this? Probably not. One cannot be really meditative at work. At least not my work.

It was a very fruitful waiting period. I enjoyed it.

And the day’s not over yet.

(Part of Lent ‘10 Extravaganza here at CPG)

First– BXVI’s Lenten Message for this year. It focuses on Justice–how is it defined in the Bible? How can we approach it here on Earth? His answer–love and humility.

Now, some other Lenten reading. Actually, some of this is “Good-all-the-year-round” Catholic reading.

• Death on a Friday Afternoon
• On Being Catholic
• Crossing the Threshold of Hope
• God and the World (BXVI before he was BXVI)
• Lent and Easter Wisdom from John Paul II
• Magnificat Lenten Companion (do try to find one in the real world if you can’t online. This is a fantastic resource.)
• The Rosary: Chain of Hope
• The Rosary: Keeping Company with Jesus and Mary (and read her blog, too!)
• BXVI’s Stations of the Cross
• Jesus, Teach Us to Pray

Lenten Music:

• Renee Fleming, Sacred Songs
• Part II of the Messiah. Some of this music is just glorious, and so overlooked, compared with parts I (Christmas) and III (”Worthy Is The Lamb” And “I Know That My Redeemer Lives.”
• L’Angelus, Sacred Hymns
• The Passion of the Christ soundtrack

Which leads to–Lenten movies:

• The Passion of the Christ (You can buy it here)
• And other other saint movies: Therese, Bernadette,
• And Clare and Francis–very very good.
• Jesus of Nazareth, the 1970s TV series. This was Required Lenten (and Christmas) watching in my house growing up, and it still has tremendous power.

So…whew. Is that enough media for ya?

So…Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent 2010.

I like Lent. I need Lent. I haven’t always liked it, but I’ve liked it more as I got older.

And this year, I’m doing something big (for me).

Normally, I don’t give anything up, I add things, like Mass, rosary, more confession. Fasting the way I’m really supposed to. Stuff like that.

But this year, I’m going to give something up: I won’t buy any books.

This is huge for me. I read like a breathe–that is to say, constantly. And in the Grand Scheme of Vices, buying books really isn’t that bad.

But…I went and read this post.

(And have you read her book? If you haven’t, you need to. It’s fantastic.)

Anyway, in the post, she writes this:

if it’s a struggle to give it up, we’reinordinately attached to it.

When we give up an addiction, we say to God, “You are more important to me than this thing. I’m giving it up for You.”

It’s the act of love that counts, but our acts of love often lead to real and positive change. When we offer an addiction for God, we find Him working on our hearts, ridding us of painful, controlling attachments.

And yes, at first glance, not buying books is freaky. I am definitely inordinately attached to my books.

So–I’m not going to buy any. For all of Lent. This will, definitely, help my financial bottom line.

I’m also hoping it helps me grow closer to God. Of course the time I’m not spending on Amazon or in book stores is time I can be doing other, more productive things. Like…prayer. Or vacuuming. (Yuck. I hate vacuuming.)

Anyway, that’s what I’m giving up for Lent.

Read Karen’s post (it’s so, so good. Forget that it’s long. Get some coffee or whatever and just drink it in.), and I’ll have some more Lent stuff over the week, including books (that I already have, thank you) and movies for your perusal.

No, I didn’t get buried under the snow and abandon you. Sorry for the lag in posting…

Over at the Bucket, I was trying to do 30 posts in 30 days, so that’s where my energy went. I managed to accomplish my goal, so head over there if you want to see what I wrote about.

Now, though, CPG takes center stage as we’re about to hit Lent.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve liked Lent more. Is this your experience? Or do you dislike it more, as you get older?

It seems to have more resonance. As a kid, Lent meant fish sticks in the cafeteria and pizza at home on Fridays, confession before Easter, no “Alleluia” at Mass, things like that. I’ve always loved the Triduum, especially Holy Thursday and Good Friday (I was born on Good Friday, so I really do like that day. And I was born at 2:47 p.m.). But Lent seemed long and sort of boring. I didn’t have to fast until after my transplant, since I was required to eat 3000+ calories a day. Fasting wasn’t really in the cards for me.

Now, I do try to fast, and I try to abstain from meat on all Fridays, not just Lenten ones. Fasting on Good Friday is fairly easy for me; I take the day off, and with Mass in the middle of the day, it cuts into “eating” time. Ash Wednesday this year will be easy, too–I’ve got the day off (I have a medical thing to do), and probably won’t be eating a whole lot. But I will miss Mass, which makes me a bit sad.

As I’m at a new parish this year, I’m excited to see how Lent is “done” there. Advent and Christmas were beautiful, and I can’t imagine that Lent will be any less reverent. There are fish fries every week (hopefully I can make a few), and the friars offer confession every day after the 11:45 Mass, as well as before the Saturday and Sunday Masses.

I will spend the weekend thinking about my Lenten goals. Do you know what yours are? I’ve already started reading my favorite Lenten book, Death on a Friday Afternoon, a meditation on the last seven words of Christ. It is beautiful–a must read.

(Almost last, because my parish has a 7 a.m. tomorrow…so technically that’s the last, before the Vigil Masses begin at 4:00 p.m.)

Before I give you the end of Advent notes, I thought I’d share this brief bit I wrote after I got back to the office today. I think it reflects the attitude of reverence at my parish quite well.

The ten-year old altar boy emerges from the sacristy, holding the brass candle lighter a good distance from his surplice and cassock. The first three candles he lights easily, moving cautiously, careful not to burn himself. He stops, bows before the Tabernacle, and goes to light the remaining three candles on the altar’s left side. He still holds the flame out from him, cautious of it. His face is perfectly solemn as he goes about his work.

The flame goes out at the first candle, and he lets out a huge sigh, acting, for an instant, like the young boy he is. He bows again, and retreats into the sacristy. When he re-emerges, it is with a new flame. In the dark sanctuary it is a brilliant point of light.

He bows again, then tries to light the candles a second time. This time, they all cooperate.

(And can I mention, this kid was really cute? I’m guessing his age, but he didn’t look to be too much older than 10 or 11. All the altar boys at St. Pat’s are very serious about their work, and it gives rise to a lot of occasional cuteness in the younger ones. And yes–it’s all altar boys.)

So, onto the last of the Advent notes :

• (And the first one’s not even an Advent note, it’s a Christmas note…sheesh) The church was decorated today, and it is beautiful! The outside was done over the weekend. Inside, all the statues are adorned with garlands, and the Mary statue in the gallery is particularly beautiful. She has poinsettias and fruit garlands all around her, even in her hands. I’m going to try to get a picture for you, because it is truly beautiful. The baptisimal font is surrounded by flowers. Inside, the altar is just festooned with poinsettias and Christmas trees. The manger scene is all but complete–all we need is Christ the Infant. His parents are already waiting expectantly. And the St. Pat’s manger scene? Incredible. It even has a water feature! The choir loft has a wreath and a garland as well. It’s really beautiful.
• Mass was pretty crowded, but nothing compared to Confessions after. St. Pat’s offers confessions (almost) every day, and before Sunday Masses. Today, there were easily 100 people waiting for the Sacrament. I have never seen so many people for individual confession. At penance services, sure. But like this? Never. Both confessionals were filled. There were little kids–maybe seven or so–with their lists of sins on the Palmer ruled paper, wadded up in their hands. They took it so seriously. And they should, right? “And a little child shall lead them”, for sure. But how great was it to see all those people wanting to be really ready to receive Jesus at Christmas?
• Random thought, while I was waiting in line: As I looked around, and saw the Church Militant (aka, the Church on Earth), I was thinking, “We are all here, admitting our imperfections, wanting to make ourselves better people. Each one of us realizes that we are human, and we screw up.” It was sort of amazing, this mass of humanity, with their very presence, demonstrating the need for God’s forgiveness, and how very human we all are.
• My family and I are going to the 4:00 Mass tomorrow. This is early for me (I’m used to Midnight), and my sister is playing Midnight Mass (she plays flute/piccolo) at our old parish. I may do a twofer and go to 4:00 and Midnight–the readings are different at the various Christmas Masses. We’ll see. Dinner follows at my parents’, and then…not sure. It’ll be weird not having to sing at Midnight Mass for the first time in awhile. I’m sure at least one viewing of A Christmas Story will occur.
• Blog hiatus (unless I have some awesome Christmas insight to share with y’all ) until next Tuesday, when we get back from Pittsburgh. Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!