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In this town even going to church can be pierced with the nails of the Culture of Death. I am sure you have all had similar experiences. On All Saints Day I take the day off from cab driving to attend Mass, but I also make the decision to really make it a holy day and to attend my first Extraordinary Form Mass. I get off the F-train across the street from Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret.
Normally I would never give it a second thought but this time of year they are gearing up for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. My eyes flash on Victoria’s Secret Store across the street. It dawns on me a few Sundays later that this is the very store where a 17-year old mother of two was arrested October 17th for shoplifting a pair of skinny jeans. One of her two children, a dead newborn was found in her bag. Officials are awaiting autopsy reports to see if she will be charged with murder. I would think about this in the weeks to come, but today I am trying to find a new church.
I make my way past hundreds of people on the sidewalk. It is easy to tell the tourists from the natives. The New Yorkers usually have that 1000-yard stare, that dead look in the eye that sees, but does not see. The tourists have that wonder still in their eyes, open. That’s why I like picking up the tourists in my cab. They are not so jaded. They still like to talk.
Most people today on the sidewalk are wearing blue jeans and sneakers, but some have green hair or orange hair or purple hair. Some have tattoos and nose piercings or lip piercings or eyebrow piercings. Some look bizarre with spiked hair or Mohican haircuts. And then it dawns on me that I am the freak here: the only one in suit and tie and carrying a red Adoremus Hymnal. So be it.
I walk up Broadway to 37th Street. I look both ways down the street searching, but I don’t see a church. Then I make out a white cross but that can’t be it. It looks like one of those old Protestant crosses that are in front of their small and sometimes storefront churches. In desperation I walk closer and make out the words in red: Holy Innocents Catholic Church.
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The building is not at first impressive, obscured by the huge glass and steel office buildings around it. I kneel and make the sign of the cross and enter. Inside is a glorious Catholic Church. The Sanctuary is all in pristine white. Beautiful sculptures of angels all in white: St. Michael with his sword and St. Gabriel who would say the words that would change the course of human history. Innocence is unmistakably proclaimed here. I notice most of the parishioners are dressed up—many of the women wearing Mantillas, the Chapel Veils, and many men in suits or dress clothes. For the first time today I don’t feel out of place.
I look up to the vaulted ceiling and the choir starts. A Gregorian chant, and my legs wobble as the six torch bearers, the thurible carriers and the Priest and Deacons enter. At the Kyrie Eleison I sob for the first time—it is so breathtakingly beautiful. The choir is world class. My thoughts are that they are professionals from the Theatre or show business. Some of the hymns are the Polyphony of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina with the bass, altos, tenors and sopranos singing different parts. The soprano is the best voice I have ever heard. Her voice soars up to the vaulted ceiling along with the curling wisps of incense, trilling the r’s as she hits the high notes.
We sing the Gloria, the Credo, and the Our Father in Latin to those sacred Latin melodies. I cry for the second, third, and fourth time. The Priest and Deacons are facing the High Altar and genuflecting or bowing to it while incensing it often. The Priest is saying the prayers for us and I’m fine with that. I don’t need to be saying the prayers along with him to feel I am participating. I am participating by being here. He is our shepherd and he prays for us. That’s the way our elder brothers the Hebrews did it for 2,000 years before Christ, and that’s mostly how the Holy Roman Catholic Church has done it for most of the last 2,000 years up until post Vatican II.
At one point in the Mass the Priests sprinkles the parishioners with Holy Water and the altar servers incense them. I get lost and don’t know what is happening a few times, but I am fine with that. I am lost in Christ’s Church and that is one good place to be lost. I tried to prepare by reading my Adoremus Hymnal beforehand but my memory is really bad this last decade or so and I just can’t retain things. I better learn by the time I get to heaven though, if the Lord in his bountiful mercy grants that divine grace to me that my whole life is aimed at receiving. I better learn it because the heavenly banquet is going on all the time there. I find afterwards that there was a pamphlet with everything listed, all the readings and translations on a table that I didn’t see. Well, next time.
Father John Zuhlsdorf was the celebrant and in his homily he said that the Mass is a foretaste of heaven. Well this Mass was a big gulp of heaven, and a vision and a sound and a smell of heaven.
The climax of the Mass is the Eucharist, “the source and summit of the Christian life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No.1324). I see the Altar Rails. I am stunned and grateful that they are still here and haven’t been taken out and made into S.U.V.s. I fall to my knees before it sobbing for the final time. I receive the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and I get up wobbly, dizzy. I walk very slowly back to the pew and fall to my knees.
Still somewhat shell-shocked, I stay afterwards for the Litany of the Saints. Ora pro nobis just like I saw on EWTN from the Vatican many times these past six years since my conversion, first with Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI and now with Pope Francis. I walked out of the Church thinking why, oh why, can’t we have this heavenly rite and this music, which I think is the most beautiful ever composed by man, in more of our churches?
I realize the Latin would be difficult and it would mean our choirs would have to learn new hymns, but the reward for parishioners and the choir members themselves would be great, and for our unconverted brethren as well. Father George Rutler Administrator of The Church of the Holy Innocents Church, and the Pastor of The Church of St. Michael has been an advocate for holy Liturgy. He says in his book “Crisis of Saints:”
It is immensely saddening to see so many elements of the Church, in her capacity as Mother of Western Culture, compliant in the promotion of ugliness. There may be no deterrent more formidable to countless potential converts than the low estate of the Church’s liturgical life, for the liturgy is the Church’s prime means of evangelization. Gone as into a primeval mist are the days not long ago when apologists regularly had to warn against being distracted by, or superficially attracted to, the beauty of the Church’s rites. And the plodding and static nature of the revised rites could not have been more ill-timed for a media culture so attuned to color and form and action. Edification is no substitute for inspiration.
As I walk outside after the Mass I am almost dazed. I slowly walk up Broadway to 35th Street. I pause and look around for a few moments.Macys is right across the street. The Empire State Building to my left juts into the sky. It must be my head that is still wobbling, for today the building seems to be swaggering. I look behind me up Broadway. I can see Times Square. Within a few blocks are the New York Times, the corporate offices of the media giants, the Theatre District, the Fashion District, Madison Square Garden, Grand Central Station and the United Nations where 50,000 runners will pass by in the New York City Marathon in two days.
Three and one half miles south down Broadway sits the Financial District. Dozens upon dozens of yellow cabs frantically speed past. The medallions, the aluminum shields bolted to their hoods, are now worth $800,000 each. The drivers all have that glazed look from “eating blacktop” for too many miles, too many hours, too many days. They are all on autopilot. I thank God I don’t have to drive one today. Many might conjecture that I am at the center of the Capital of the World; but none of these things mean anything to me.
To me the Capital of the World is that Church on 37th Street, seemingly obscured by the power and might of these constructions of modern man. I feel the same whether I am coming from a regular Mass or a Traditional Latin Mass–for inside that Church of the Holy Innocents is my Lord, the Creator of all that I see and of things beyond my wildest imaginings. He is always there, but today I saw Him vividly everywhere inside, pulsating, dynamic, singing in glory.
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(Note the reflection of Victoria’s Secret in upper left corner).
After this week’s Mass it dawned on me that the poor dead baby was found right here. Macy’s holiday windows are newly revealed. Snowy landscapes with crystalline trees and animals were depicted. One had bunnies—the Christmas bunny? That’s a new one for me, but at Macys I suppose all things are possible? A little boy in red flannels eagerly awaits his Christmas gifts. One of their slogans is “A Million Reasons to Believe.”
“I didn’t realize they had that many items in their store?” I joked to an onlooker.
Not one of their beliefs were about God, or Christ, or the miraculous birth, or life, certainly not the Blessed Mother the role model for all mothers. These beliefs in the Gospel of materialism might be what led that poor soul in Victoria’s Secret to value a pair of skinny jeans more than her own baby. These values of the Culture of Death are leading millions of poor souls the wrong way. To paraphrase Pope Francis: We should always resist this culture in word and deed and to never be afraid to add the Christian alternative to these erroneous ideas.
© 2013 Jamey Brown All rights reserved.
43 thoughts on “NYC Cabbie: Thankful for EF Mass, Sad for Dead Baby”
Absolutely beautiful Jamey. So many folks could benefit from reading this inspiring
article. May I have permission to republish it on my blog http://fjdalessio.wordpress.com)?
God
bless
Sure, Fredi, and you don’t know how your comment inspires me.
Thank you.
Thanks so much Jamey:
Heaven
on Earth Amidst a Non-believing Culture
Thank you so much for this wonderful piece of writing. I actually read it on Fr. Z’s blog, but I wanted to read it here so as to comment on it. My family cameo to The Church almost 3 years ago. Reading about the servers reminds me of my two young adult sons who serve both at our parish as well as the colleges they attend- Tho as More in NH and Christendom in VA. I wept when I read about the soprano as my oldest daughter is in our choir and everyone (not just me being her mom) says her voice is amazing.
This was a very special reminder to me of how blessed I am to be part of The Catholic Church and the
parish where we are members!
Do you mean that the angelic voice in the choir is your daughter?
That is absolutely amazing!
As Father George Rutler always says/prays,
“Thanks be to God.”
This post makes me miss Manhattan which is hard to do these days. I would say, though, that not St. Gabriel words but Mary’s response to St. Gabriel is what changed the course of human history. I have never attended an EF Mass but would if given the opportunity.
You are right– her “Fiat” set it all in motion. I heard Father George Rutler say on one of his EWTN TV Shows–I can’t remember which one–that “Fiat” was also what God said when he created the world, “Let there be.” The two creations.
I hope you find an EF Mass. You can watch them on EWTN. They have a few broadcast during the holidays. Maybe find one on their website?
Outstanding. I don’t gush about other people’s wiring much. You gave me chills. I love your perceptions and your sense of humor. And I love that you “get” the traditional Latin Mass.
Thankyou for your words and who you are! Look forward to reading more of your posts. May God be with you at all times in and in all things! May Our Blessed Mother have you in her mantle always!
Your beautiful face radiates the beauty of Jesus Our Lord & Savior. This story is a story for all of us who Love Christmas & all of Heaven. I must pray for that Culture who never knew Him. Thanks agan, Jamey dear.
Jamey… what a beautiful blessing on a Saturday morning to read your wonderful reflection. Loved it… and hope to see many more!
curious how EWTN played a role in your conversion? Were you a nominal catholic prior to that?
Thanks for asking. I was raised a Protestant but became Atheist in my teens and years drinking and drugging. When by the grace of God I was delivered from those demons i started believing in God but only believing in Jesus as another enlightened master like Buddha. I was active in a New Age Church playing guitar there for 15 years. My main study was A Course in Miracles. (All my life I was very anti-Catholic). When that church closed I would watch religious shows on TV for my spirituality. At times when the televangelizers didn’t interest me I put on EWTN just for some “spiritual imagery” to have in my mind–paintings, statues, cathedrals–as I went off to sleep. Lo and behold, two of the lay women hosts, Francis Hogan and Johnnette Benkovic said some things with the ring of truth to them, and said it with such conviction and authority and with reams of back up explanation. I started watching more. I remember Father Francis (who has since left the order) and Father Mitch Pacwa as the first Priests that I liked–very cordial and very learned. Some weeks later I heard a long explanation of Chesterton’s on the divinity of Christ, “…[W]ho where he seems right to us is often in tune with matters not ancient but modern…But what nobody can possibly call him is a Galilean of the time of Tiberius.” I blinked, I rocked, I blinked again, I believed! My whole world reeled and listed, but righted itself for the first time. Everything made sense–why the world was created, why we were created (to know, love, and serve the Lord and be with him forever in heaven), the meaning of it all, my purpose, my hope. What I had been searching for my whole life, I found it–and it was a Person. Oh Lord, how wrong I had been all those years, but you finally set me right. Thanks be to God.
Very fine imagery on the EF experience but now I have to ask you the hard questions, so put on some Strravinsky and think about the baby. Would it have been better for the girl’s grandmother to 1: have used birth control so her daughter couldn’t have been born to eventually kill her baby ? 2: The mom to have used birth control so she didn’t have a baby to kill ? 3. In the case of abortion is it preferred that the fetus of the offending mom be aborted or a full term baby be born only to die in a handbag ? These are secular world questions and your response will reveal how much reality you are able
to handle. No perfect world scenarios and you must color between the lines offered
and if you need to abstain I will help you pull your head out of the sand.
.
Thank you, James, for your concern for our baby brother or sister. Respectfully, I don’t think any of the questions you pose apply to the young mother. She has been born and we do not know her family of origin. We do not know if she used any method(s) of birth control or not. We do not know why she chose not to have an abortion. Posing these questions implies that something methodical could have been done to prevent her from walking around the city with her dead newborn in her bag. Please consider this young woman a person with inherent dignity and worth, not as a problem that should have been fixed. Neither birth control nor abortion are a remedy (something that cures a disease or heals or removes an evil) for whatever ails this young lady and brought about the horror of the newborn child dead being carried in her bag and not in her arms.
” … and brought about the horror of the newborn child dead being carried in her bag and not in her arms.”
my translation : status quo is acceptablle
Thanks for your input here. It is the secular world asking. Just playing
DA – In fact, I wouldn’;t even answer my own question because I am a mainstream Catholic on a site inspired by conservative to orthodox Catholics. This is just some drive-by theology that Jamey inspired by
his amazing experiances both in and out of the material world
Thank you, James, but Gregorian chant will put my mind in a more peaceful and spiritual place than Stravinsky. I think it was providence not coincidence that Holy Innocent’s was just 3 blocks from Victoria’s Secret and Macys. The materialism of the Culture of Death on elaborate display at Macys really wreaks a terrible toll and particularly on our most vulnerable, the unborn and our children. It is one of the main weapons in the attack on the family. Families disintegrate, fathers abandon mothers and children, and mothers despise and destroy their own children by thinking that they are a burden and obstacle to the mother’s pursuit of pleasure and possessions. We know little of the thinking of the poor mother in Victoria’s Secret, but she certainly evinced disordered actions and was rightly taken to Bellevue’s psychiatric unit. But to think that birth control or abortion was the first choices you thought of to solve the problem is jolting. To think that if babies are not born we can prevent poverty and crime is not the answer if you play the thought out to the end. “It is not intelligent to design our own extinction”—Father George Rutler. I would like to know how a “mainstream Catholic” differs from a “traditional or orthodox” Catholic?
k
Alas, Jamey, these blogs zig and zag so fast we all have trouble reading. As you read part of my reply to Pam but not all.
” But to think that birth control or abortion was the first choices you thought of to solve the problem is jolting.” Jamey
” It is the SECULAR WORLD asking. Just playing DA -…” james
” In fact, I wouldn’;t even answer my own question because I am a mainstream Catholic on a site inspired by conservative to orthodox Catholics. ” james
The appr 7 out of 10 who no longer rigidly attend Mass or who avail themselves of a sacrament are mainstream Catholics. Another term
are the C & E Catholics who swell the churches on Christmas and Easter. The stream itself is so wide that no one mainstream opinion counts as it varies from one end of spectrum to the other. Traditional folks are faithful to the magesterium and their obligations, as posted.
Orthodox folks are purists so rigid that they blame Vat II for the ills
of the church and would secretly like to throw the mainstream peeps
out of the church. They are able to get their minds around limbo and
other medieval speculations and believe that for a catholic to miss mass is the equivalent of murder as far as spiritual consequences go.
They are unable to envision the subtle but necessary changes the CC
will evolve through in the next 2-300 years and dread the though of
ecuminisim on a grand scale. Their motto is: God is on our side.
Hope this helps, Jamey and please don’t impute any subject I may
entertain as my own personal gospel. This church you recently found
is far more complicated than you think – at least that’s what I surmised
after 12 years of parochial educaion.
Yes, James, the Church is the great wisdom of the world. I keep asking myself, “Why didn’t I find this great font of wisdom sooner? It has the answer–the full answer–to all the questions I’ve asked all my life. Sorry if I misinterpreted your comment that was mimicking the Main Stream Media, as actually coming from you. Father Rutler further says in “Crisis of Saints” that we can’t blame it all on the revisions after Vatican II, “As it is weak and feeble to say that this was not the fault of the Church’s official liturgical documents but only the result of their misuse, so, of course, would it be blind to pretend that ecclesiastical arts were in excellent shape before the revision.” But new and good things will come out of this. The Church is always in a cycle of decay and renewal.
Hold one my friend. though I personally admire you for your
ministry and super inspiring faith, we’re not done. I really am constantly amazed that those recovering from a lot of super trauma – and so many former atheists -cling for their lives to
the wonderful church that is saving them. However, we need to put a quote by you into the context of moral relativism.
” It has the answer–the full answer–to all the questions I’ve asked all my life.” – Jamey
The revulsion you felt when I or anyone purports abortion as
a remedy is felt just as strongly by others for something you do every day. Based on percentages, I presume you eat meat
and on occasion, veal. Hundreds of millions practicing a faith that is at least a 1000 years older than ours, ABHOR the fact that you have not a qualm against taking ie:a very young calf, confine it in a very small pen where it neither can turn around or move for months, then slaughter this sentient creature so you can munch on it in under 300 seconds as you ride around
picking up fares. – my sincere appologies if you don’t do this so we’ll pick another cabbie instead. These children of God
cannot for the life of them understand why you would do such a sinful thing to a creature that only gives, ( milk, leather when its done living, ect.), never taking, harmless as a pet, yet not even ritualistically slaughtered – by the billions every day. To them you don’t even have the guts to drive to an abattoir to watch the cow that will become your burger, slaughtered,
dismembered, disseminated in less than two hours. Their ideal respect for life trumps yours. See, Jamey, see why some people view a fetus that is unwanted better removed
than to take the chance it may become a dead baby found in a bag ? See the relativity ? Someday the CC will take the 5th command and restore it to its primary lesson. In Genesis God spelled out our diet – mankind changed it. Our church may know everything but it has not addressed everything it should know.
I don’t eat meat, James. For most of my adult life I have been vegetarian. I admire your caring about animals. Jesus ate fish in the Upper Room after the Resurrection. We don’t know what they ate at the Passover Meal. The Jews have been eating lamb at that meal for 3300 years. I also want to thank you for getting me to look up things in my Catechism. No.2417 “God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals for food and clothing.” And regarding your comment “some people view a fetus that is unwanted better removed than to take a chance it may become a dead baby in a bag?” If the baby–not fetus–is aborted it has absolutely no chance at life. Some babies and people survive the most wretched and impossible situations. That is why the Catholic Church is against suicide. I just read a story of a woman in China who rescued 30 abandoned infants from the city dump where they were left to die. It’s posted on my blog jameybrown.Blogspot.com and Facebook page. Another story on same page of a baby only about 3 pounds found with it’s throat and in a plastic bag left in a dumpster. It lived!
Well, I eat just fish too Jamey with the aim of going vegan
before I expire. My point is that hundreds of millions of people view what we do as sinful. We don’t view what we do as sinful. In their ideal they sweep the bugs in front of them lest they take a life. We erradicate life. Something tells me that we have much to learn about life from them. That unfortunate mom who was responsible for her baby’s death might not have thought she was sinning either. It takes a finger to point out sin even if its not sin we think we are doing. This is called relativity; this is why Francis said to meet everyone where they are at – hence the original options I proposed that people ponder everyday. So I will let this go now (in peace ) and thank you for holding your own without pointing and listening to understand that which you disagree with.
Thanks, James, we always have lively discussions. I always thought it strange that we feed soybeans to the cows and then eat the cows when it would be healthier for us to eat the soybeans. Yes, you are so right about Pope Francis; he is charming and personable with everyone and gently instructs them at whatever place they are coming from. He gives us a good example to imitate as he imitates Christ. Have a blessed Advent and Christmas and enjoy your Stravinsky.
I really enjoyed your essay, Jamey!
We need a return to beauty in the liturgy–beauty for the eyes, ears, and even nostrils! The world needs this of us, too.
Let us be honest. The Latin Mass is no more sacred or inspiring than the Masss in any other language or form. In fact, the Eastern Divine Liturgies are even more “inspiring” to those who prefer them, and they really predate any Latin liturgy which is pale in compasrison. That being said, one must never make any liturgy an idol. I prefer one form of the Mass, and you another…I am inspired by the one that I “prefer” and I hope that you choose wisely.
Thank you, Terik, for your insightful comment. Please don’t get me wrong. ALL Masses are holy because Christ is there. The degree of reverence displayed in the conduct of the Mass is purely a matter of personal taste. I would like to see an Eastern Rite Mass some time. The Solemn Mass and the Latin High Mass/Missa Cantata just reverberated in my soul in a way that I can barely
express.
My journey to the Church was much like yours. Thank you for sharing your story. May God bless you.
. Dear Jamey-I am off to Mass here soon in San Antonio and will say your name at the Offertory. We are-even those of us who say daily I HAVE GREATLY SINNED-all members of the communion of saints. And I will remember the mother of that little Holy Innocent in the bag that you mentioned. Keep writing and keep praying, God has gifted you and thank you for sharing His gifts with us. And say this loud and clear everywhere: Merry CHIRST-mas! Guy McClung San Antonio ps: for a trip, google my name and monogamy
Thank you, Rex. I am so blessed that you will pray for me. I am praying for you too and all of our dear readers. We all have a job to do: to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. This is what the world needs so desperately now.
The indult (those allowed by Pope John Paul 2 for loyal Catholics who prefer the Latin Mass) Masses usually include an Ecclesia Dei Commission Latin to Spanish paperback missal, though the readings are usually repeated and the sermon is given by the priest in English. I am to young to have gone to a Latin Mass in childhood, but only by a couple years. I was blown away by the Latin Mass! There’s way more reverence given by priest and pewsitter, alike, and you also have the beautidul and instructional symbology of the art, architecture and music–none of which was designed to be done away with!! Following along can take some more going to those ones, though, especially if you don’t have a loved one to guide you. The paperback missals have prompts and helpful prayers, though. Forget about whatever you heard about angry traditionalists. They may be the SSPX or sedevacantist types. The KC indult ones seem pretty normal and well-adjusted to me. Regardless, the Latin Mass is what it is and it should be appreciated for what it is. Try one out! Try all the Catholic rites out! You probably can in NYC! KC has two indult priestly fraternities offering Masses, an SSPX one (though lack of jurisdiction could compromise certain sacraments), an Anglican-use (an Anglican liturgy adjusted for Church of England concerts to
Catholicism) Catholic bunch. Sadly, we have no Maronite one, which uses a language like which Jesus and his 12 spoke most often. Fr. Mitch Pacwa likes that kind. There is a Byzantine rite in neighboring Sugar Creek, but it’s sadly not in Greek. There’s extraordinary rites in the Greatet KC area or close by for you! God bless you all and great article!
So well written, Jamey. It seems I could feel what you felt.
Thank you what a beautiful tradition. As a mother that adopted, I often wonder why NOTHING is done for the adoption family when the Church is supposed to be so Pro Life. We adopted two special needs children and barely had anyone say anything! What a lot opportunity to teach REAL pro-life love!
Bless you Catherine. What a blessed thing you did. My little sister was multiple handicapped and I can empathize with your struggle. My mother–rest her soul–helped start a school for special needs children. You talk about heroes?–the parents of these little ones could teach a course on sacrificial love! The dinners and dances and parties and vacations and weekends missed to care for these most precious little treasures! All the world thanks you!
Jamey, thanks so much for writing about Holy Innocents. You are so right, it is a haven of sanity in a city gone mad. In my periodic walks between Penn and Grand Central Stations, it (and St. John the Baptist CC) has been an oasis of morning beauty, peace, and prayer time. I hope to make All Saints Day next year after reading your experience.
Happy Thanksgiving Patrick and everyone. Yes Holy Innocents is an oasis of sanity. I trek in from Queens but others come from New Jersey and further away. There will be a Solemn Mass on Friday the day after Thanksgiving at 1:00pm (that’s the Mass I saw on All Saint’s Day). On the next day Saturday there will be High Mass/Missa Cantata also at 1:00 pm. (That’s the Mass I saw this past Sunday. Not quite as elaborate but equally spellbinding). Normally there is a Traditional Latin Mass Monday through Friday at 6:00pm and Saturday at 1:00pm. On Sundays at 10:30am is a Latin Missa Cantata. Yes Holy Church does seem to be a parallel universe most of the time.
Awesome! I also really want to attend an Extraordinary Form Mass. My soul yearns for it. Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving, Rose! Oh your comment just warmed my heart. You can watch one on EWTN. They have some from the Vatican during the holidays but to see it in person is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It’s the difference between eating a slice of watermelon and seeing a photo of one.
Sensational? Flowery? True? All of the above minus the truth. There are so many discrepancies in this story that it make the whole story appear as a pitch for all things olden. Maybe this author, by his own admission, used too much drugs.
Why do you have to be so rude Rex?
Beautiful writing Jamey thank you and god bless your ministry
Excellent post, Jamey! Wonderful spiritual observation and meditation. And I’m sure if you’re around Fr. Rutler long enough, you’ll hear him talk about being a saint in the middle of the world. Whatever our vocation, we passionately love the world because God Himself passionately loves the world, His creation! We have to reach out to each and every person, especially the most vulnerable. And you do that just by being a man of Faith, action and integrity!
By the way, I used to sing beautiful polyphonic masses when I was in my (secular) high school’s choir, and always wondered – if it was a called a ‘Mass’ – why I had never heard them at Mass! Well, this was back in the groovy 80s…!
Blessings and graces to you!
Thank you, Father Ramil. Father Rutler says in his book “Crisis of Saints” that the world today needs saints–you and I. (I heard him say once that he is not good on the computer so I feel safe that he won’t read this; otherwise if he heard me paraphrasing and praising him, he would have me in sack cloth and ashes for a year).
Thank God for you, Jamey!
How inspired!
Let me know how I can support your ministry.
Thank you, John. Just pray for us people in New York, and for mothers everywhere.