Lest I Forget

Which I have apparently done, is that Pope Benedict XVI asked Priests back in January ‘ought Ten to Get Online and Spread the Gospel.

Sigh. I almost completely forgot about posting on my blog; I’m not very good at it.

In fact, I asked around to a variety of people whether I should keep the site or not, and the overwhelming response was “Yes! Absolutely! Please, please, PLEASE do! We couldn’t live without your blog!” (Not.) But, the general response was to keep it and post more often.

And spread the Gospel.

With that in mind, here is today’s Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

And here are some recent observations on blogging and myself:

  1. It can take up a lot of time, and one needs to get out and get more exercise if one is doing it.
  2. I am not, and never have been, drawn to blog about the things that most other Catholic bloggers blog about, i.e. the latest Catholic news stories, or insightful posts about Papal documents, Vatican translations, or the Extraordinary Form vs. the Novus Ordo. I prefer to write about things that happen in my life in a stream of consciousness sort of way. Some like it, some don’t; take it or leave it.
  3. Maybe I should rethink that.
  4. But I just did, and I’m still not drawn to it, as others do it far better than I ever would or could.
  5. I’ve had major periods of self-consciousness as a blogger because I had never anticipated the amount of scorn it would draw from fellow Priests.
  6. I’m more or less over that. Sometimes people just don’t get along; cliques exist, and it’s not that big a deal; Priest’s are human, and that includes me with all of my own faults and insecurities. I’m not very important in the big scheme of things of God’s plan, or the Church’s plan. But I pray to do His will daily, and I try to do it, and that’s enough for me each day. It helps to keep life simple.
  7. I don’t really read a lot of other Catholic blogs.
  8. I do read a lot of news and information sources on what’s going on in the Church. So I assume anyone who finds my blog and reads it is on the internet and reads the same sources, and is already in the know. Plus, they are probably reading the bloggers who do such a great job of dissecting those things anyway.
  9. Having a website allows me to share things with friends fairly easily, such as photos I can put up in temporary directories. Also, I can occasionally post photos from my life in my weblog, and work with improving my photography (which does need a lot of work, I freely admit. But if I never practice it, I’ll never improve.)
  10. And, I think that about wraps that up. Thanks for joining me!

To live, to adventure, to understand the will of God…

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.

Stokes Grimsley

Stokes' Brick

Before I forget, I wanted to post this picture of a brick. I don’t know why, and it’s a total non sequitur, and has nothing to do with much of anything that’s been going on lately. It’s a completely random update.

It’s from a memorial walk in Natchez, Mississippi, in a public park right next to the Cathedral. I was visiting with a family friend who had brought me to see the Cathedral, though it was closed.

Aside from liking the name, and thinking that Stokes must have been quite a character, I found myself wondering who on earth he was. What a great name. You can imagine the stories, “That ol’ Stokes!”…

So I googled it and realized it’s actually two surnames. I think. So disappointing… to me at least.

On the bright side, the garden is nearing a state of completion, although the cement pond has sprung a virulent leak. Also, I’m settling in and am almost living a box free life. (This is a good development.) The next project is my office.

Also, praying the Holy Spirit Novena again, which I had posted in January. Wonderful prayer. Here’s to a grand Feast of Pentecost.

Where to Go to Mass in New Orleans?

Because people continually ask this, and because I typed up a long response to an e-mail the other day, here, for some future Googler’s delight, is a brief synopsis of the three Catholic Churches close to the main hotels and action down in the CBD and the French Quarter.

There are three places down in that area, all of which are great for Mass.

Immaculate Conception Church

Sanctuary
“Jesuit on Baronne”, as we say here (it’s actually Immaculate Conception Church), can be found on Baronne Street, and also has a home on the web.

They are (obviously) Jesuit, and across from the Roosevelt, which is a great place to grab coffee or brunch after Mass. The Mass is ordinary form. The preaching is more often than not, wonderful. I only add ‘more often than not’ as it might be an off day when you go and .. you know how it goes… You’ll be blaming me for the rest of your life! The current Pastor is a friend I grew up with, Fr. Stephen Sauer and is a great Priest. They have a vibrant outreach to the community in regard to the Church’s teachings on helping the poor.

Through a fluke in timing I’ve been able to help out here recently with their music needs, playing piano and organ. The Steinway is a work of art, and the organ is a lovely late model Pheonix. It’s been a sheer pleasure.

St. Patrick’s Church

Closer to the river is St. Patrick’s, which I love and go to from time to time when I am able (which is obviously not often.)

St. Patrick's at Christmas
The Church is located on Camp Street.

The Mass is more traditional as it is celebrated ad orientem. The extraordinary form is celebrated twice on weekends, with Eucharistic Adoration also on Sunday afternoons. The Pastor is one of my favorite seminary professors, and a wonderful Priest, Fr. Stan Klores. You’ll usually see him walking around in a cassock prior to Mass if he is not the Priest saying the Mass.

Some of my friends cherish the 9:30am Extraordinary Form High Mass ~~~ others cherish the 5:30pm vigil which has no music and which is pretty quick. Something for everyone.

Also impressive is the St. Patrick’s You Tube Channel, which offers a glimpse into liturgical life there…

And last but never least, they have a spectacular new organ, Opus 53 of Patrick Murphy. organ

Can you tell I was an organist prior to ordination?

The Cathedral

St. Louis CathedralThen of course, there’s The Cathedral Basillica of St. Louis, King of France. (We say that all the time.) I love going when I can because it’s down on Jackson Square, and is the iconic symbol of New Orleans. The Archbishop says Mass on Sundays at 11, the vigil is usually (lately) said by Fr. William Maestri, who gives a good Homily.

There is an internist position for the organist, whereby a spectacular organ student from Paris comes to play Masses and give recitals on the recently restored organ, which was newly installed a year before Katrina and then had a few years of recovery and tlc after wind driven rains poured over it and the plaster above it for hours.

It’s always a bit alway exciting if you like organ music, and if the organist is playing.Cathedral OrganThey are right down on Jackson Square, you can’t miss it.

There are some other notable Churches in the area, but are farther away walks. One is Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is home to the National Shrine of St. Jude. I’m not as familiar with it as I should be, though I have visited several times, it is just outside the French Quarter.

I hope this helps you enjoy your trip to New Orleans a bit more. If you have any question, or if you want to take me to Galatoire’s while you’re here, feel free to e-mail me!

Pax Christi,
Fr. KA

The Rev. Kenneth Allen