Everything makes sense now!

I just saw Office Space for the first time.

"Six of 11 Egyptian students who failed to show up for classes after entering the United States are in federal custody, the FBI said Thursday."

Michelle Malkin posts the pictures of all of them.

Perhaps related, perhaps not, the arrests of the 24 plotters in England is good news, and should remind people that we are at war against muslim terrorists.

Former Newsday publisher pleads guilty in child porn case

No comment. Except to say that child porn, child abuse, and hypocrisy ain't just found in our Catholic Church.

The FCC has approved the transfer of WLIE to Relevant Radio! I love listening to various radio shows, from comedy to news to talk and Relevant Radio will mean we Catholic Nerds will have a Long Island station to listen to. I heard they will be providing some local content in addition to the national stuff, but I would love to have that confirmed.

Mass on EWTN


Father Jan Larson has written an article criticizing the Masses on EWTN. He says the priests looked too serious and somber. The article is so bad it almost hurts, the author is clueless. The only thing he gets correct is this line:

"The liturgy, in effect, is unlike anything that Catholics experience in the vast majority of Catholic parish churches"

Thank God for EWTN! The things you read in Diocesan papers can be truly unbelievable. Although it is not online yet, there was a letter published recently in the Long Island Catholic bemoaning the impending return of "mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa". The writer sounded like he wouldn't be able to return to Mass when this happends and that the Church went "beyond this type of stuff".

Hellooooo?

I haven't been able to get on this blog for a week. Or any other blogger blogs..

Why has there been absolute silence about the Mepham High School rapists?? Does anyone remember how violent these crimes were? Where are these criminals now and why don't we hear any sort of updates from the media? Obviously people don't need to intrude on the victims privacy but I wish we would hear if the rapists have served their time or if they are in our neighborhood.

Ignatius Press is not selling anymore Charlotte Church merchandise. Based on her comments about September 11th and New Yorkers I would say they are 5 years late.

Immaculée Ilibagiza: Catholic witness

This Long Islander's book tells her story of getting out of Rwanda and gets an excellent review from Bishop Murphy. It is also reviewed in the latest edition of The National Catholic Register.

"Beloved monsignor killed by drunk driver"

Amid scandal, church shuts sports program

Newsday reports on a strange situation at St. Matthew's in Dix Hills. The athletic program was closed by the pastor due to some sort of financial irregularities. The Diocese of Rockville Centre audited the program last fall, and now the Suffolk County DA has opened a criminal investigation. The pastor, Fr. John McCartney, is new to the parish, arriving there just 2 weeks ago to replace Msgr. McDonald, who is now the rector of the seminary. Fr. McCartney came from St. James in Seaford, not the parish mentioned in the article. This story is missing many details but brings up some interesting points:

First -

"We went from being a church with an athletic program to being athletic program with a church," said McCartney, adding that the program had become so big that to some people it was more important than the church."

This is rampant in the Church today, particularly in Catholic schools and in suburban parishes. Many people are cultural Catholics and the extracurricular activities become more important than the important stuff. When you see people in Church reading the parish bulletin instead of the day's readings or praying, you know something ain't right!

Secondly, I can't help but wonder if the Church is becoming more quick to call in the law as a result of the priest sex scandals, or if the Church acts quicker in matters of money, as opposed to matters involving children. I hope it is the former but fear it is the latter.

Third, this is the third time (that I am aware of) that the Diocese has done audits that turn up problems right after a change in leadership. First, Telecare, the local television station had a new leader installed and then an audit found a worker had set up an outside company to maintain the grounds, and the work was paid for but not done. Then, Holy Family parish in Hicksville gets a new pastor, and an audit found two long time employees using parish money for personal expenses.

Overall, it seems the problems are being discovered and dealt with the proper way. I just wonder why it sometimes takes so long to find this stuff out. The lingering issue is the first one though - nothing can be more important than the faith.

The National Catholic Register interviewed Msgr. James McDonald, the new rector of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception here on Long Island. The previous rector left due to stress and there have been quite a few good changes made to our seminary over the past 5 years. This one probably caused a few heads to explode though.

"Msgr. McDonald, 64, has never taught in a seminary and holds no advanced degrees in theology. But Rockville Centre Bishop William Murphy said he tapped the long-time pastor because Msgr. McDonald holds “a doctorate in priesthood,” and is “an extraordinary mentor and leader of the men,” as demonstrated by his tireless recruitment of vocations. "

Some people have asked me to post wedding pictures so here are some:

The priest who once told a seminary class "I can't wait for Mother Angelica to die" has taken a leave of absence and gone away from Long Island. He obviously was a very troubled soul and perhaps correctly recognized this. He might not believe this but I am praying for him.

"We were able to borrow this video camera from the St. Louis Office of Youth Ministry"

Finally, a Youth Ministry put to good use.

I always liked The King of Glory, perhaps we should have this type of liturgical dance for our Nuptial Mass?

From You Duped Me Lord.

Another day on Long Island:

Cannibal killer seeks release from maximum security facility

The wedding was beautiful, many thanks to our priest. The homily was well received, many people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, mentioned how nice the ceremony was. A friend of the family who was pastor of a local Church stopped in to ask if he could concelebrate, which blew me and the presider away. The Litany of the Saints was sung just before the vows, asking all the saints to bless us and our marraige. There were a couple of glitches, but nothing huge. The organist played Here Comes the Bride, although we had mentioned we did not want that song played, and the cake at the reception was the incorrect one. The important thing is that we were married before God, and all seemed to have a good time at the reception.

Some good news here - the last edition of the Long Island Catholic had an article by Dr. Janet Smith and mentioned that her column is a new edition to the paper.

I am back from the honeymoon, actually have been back since Sunday. I am getting the new place ready now and starting work on setting up our home. The wedding Mass was beautiful, the reception was nice, and the honeymoon cruise to the Southern Caribbean was great. I think I will love being married. More later.