confessions

Confessions Tonight

Blown out Black and white

I confess.

After our amazing and uplifting, and incredibly beautiful two hour marathon of Confessions, I came back here and got ready for bed by playing around with Photoshop.

The fact that the above photo, and it’s processing, are so overblown doesn’t surprise me, as I was trying to highlight the amazing and dramatic clouds.

…it was an amazing night, I tell you.

What does surprise me is that I was standing there taking a picture while the clouds were gathering so bizarrely.

mississippi

Playing with these photos was inspired by a photo I posted the other day of this rainstorm over the river down my Fort Jackson, which I really like. These were just not meant to be.

Lesson learned: since you can’t write about much of anything after a Night of Confessions, you may as well relax and play with Photoshop for a few minutes before going to bed, no matter the outcome.

And that’s that on that.

But it was an amazing night, I tell you. God is absolutely amazing.

Amen.

Margaret

Margaret

Just a brief update on Margaret Haughery, with a portrait of her decaying statue downtown.

I love how it just says ‘Margaret‘, as if there is no need at all for anyone to even question what her last name might be.

And this via an email from TJ Fisher, who has been an avid researcher into Margaret’s life:

Shortly before Margaret’s death, she received a cross from the Pope. Margaret died on February 9, 1882. Her body was taken to St. Vincent’s Infant Asylum, where it was embalmed and laid in state. The funeral took place on the following Saturday morning. Her death was announced in the newspapers with blocked columns as a public calamity, and the city newspapers were edged in black to mark her passing. Her obituary was printed on the front page of the Times-Picayune newspaper, the main paper in the city. She had a State funeral. The funeral cortege assembled at the asylum included 13 priests, headed by Archbishop Napolèon-Joseph Perchè (Third Archbishop of New Orleans). Thousands, including prominent politicians, businessmen and other members of the clergy, attended her funeral.

Orphans from all the city’s asylums were present, black and white, along with the historic Mississippi fire brigade (of which she was an honorary member) and nuns of numerous orders, as well as close friends and admirers. The streets, sidewalks, balconies and windows were thronged with mourners. These included three generals, clergymen of all denominations and city representatives. The cortege passed the New Orleans stock exchange at noon. Members suspended proceedings, left the room and came down to the sidewalk. St. Patrick’s Church was so thronged that the pallbearers had great difficulty getting the remains through the center aisle. Requiem Mass was celebrated by Most Reverend Monsignor Allen with Archbishop Perchè reading the prayers after Mass. Her friend Father Hubert gave the sermon. She was buried in the same St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 tomb with her great friend Sister Francis Regis, the Sister of Charity who died in 1862 and with whom Margaret cooperated in all her early work for the poor.

I’m a fan, and I hope to see her get the recognition our world and our Church, and mostly our city, need for her to have.

Night of Confessions

Stormy Eve

Today at all Masses across the diocese we read a letter from our Archbishop:

The Catechism teaches that we should go to Confession at least once per year

On September 14, 2011 the Sacrament of Penance, more commonly known to us as Confession will be available in all of our parish churches beginning at 7:00p.m.

September 14 is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It is a reminder that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and draws us to a life of conversion and new life through his resurrection.

On this day, on September 14 of this year, all of our Churches in the Archdiocese of New Orleans will have a light on in the confessional as a sign that Christ is not only a light of the world but one who is eager to forgive and to heal us.

May I encourage you to take this opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance not only this month but on a regular basis as we have the opportunity to meet the forgiving, loving and merciful Christ.

Wishing you God’s blessings,
et cetera, et cetera, …
Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond
Archbishop of New Orleans

So, this Wednesday is the Night of Confessions.

The readings today speak to forgiveness, and with the Sacrament of Confession looming so importantly in our diocesan psyche, I used most of my Confession Story as my Homily. (Fear not, it was well edited from the rambling post I published here.)

The Catechism teaches that we should go to Confession at least once per year; I find every 2 months or so is good for many.

At any rate, we’re looking forward to Wednesday evening, which will be a great time of healing for many.

Katrina Anniversary

Yesterday was the Sixth Anniversary of Katrina, and it’s a sign of great improvement that I didn’t get around to posting about it until well, until today.

But, I’ve never gotten around to doing anything with these photos, so I decided to start posting them here. I know you’ll love them!

Er.. Hello? Helllooo…?

They’ll make it into a separate page, because why be maudlin? But it’s definitely a part of my early Priesthood, and a part of history. And I have things to say about that experience.

I have things to say about a lot of things that have happened along the way, as a matter of fact. Just you wait, I’m telling you.

Read more

A Time for Living.

Well it’s been a long and beautiful weekend here. Here’s what I was up to:

  1. At Masses this weekend the Deacons preached. We’re blessed with some great Deacons: Deacon Angelus and Deacon Henry both give Homilies which are very insightful, informative, and challenging.

    That does make the weekend somewhat easier for us Priests, for the obvious reason that we don’t have to give a Homily. (I usually work on one anyway, though am terribly remiss about publishing them.)

  2. Tomorrow is the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and hence the anniversary of my dad’s death. It’s still difficult to think that he died that awful day. It was one of the last things I could have possibly foreseen with that storm.

  3. The heat’s got me somewhat down; quite a few projects without a time frame are easily postponed until October, like, cleaning the garage, upping my cycling mileage, redoing some of the garden.

    I am officially going to start planing vacations in the August/September time frame. That will render my ministry much more effective, and everyone will be pleased with that. Especially me.

  4. I prepared a vegetable dish for lunch after the 11:00 a.m. Mass. It consisted if many peppers and onions which I cleaned out of the vegetable bin, cooked down with some other things and some spinach, then made into a curry and had with quinoa.

    It’s the kind of thing that’s great to eat alone, very nourishing with good flavors. But if anyone were around I’d probably deny having any part in making it.

  5. I got a lot of reading done this weekend, a bit of research I’m undertaking for yet another project that’s entered my mind for scheduling.

    Sometimes it’s best to have a ten year plan amidst all the other plans of life.

    Especially since, well… argh… well, since blogging’s not my forte! The truth hurts, but we must always face it squarely.

  6. Monday is my alleged day off, and I actually have a free day tomorrow. So I can sleep in, in air conditioned splendor, while the whole world starts turning around a new work week.

    If that makes anyone jealous, I’m not incredibly upset about it. I’ll probably be up at 5AM anyway.

    7. God, grant us peace of days and teach as in all things to glorify you. Teach us to pray as we ought, and to live according to your will for our lives.

    In you alone is our hope O Lord, and we know that we shall never hope in vain. Amen.

The Rev. Kenneth Allen