Update

I haven't posted much recently, but I have an excuse. Two of my grandsons are visiting Diane and me here in Florida and my time is now their time. We've been enjoying ourselves though, despite the soggy presence of tropical storm Debby who, like our grandchildren, wants to hang out here in Florida as long as possible. Oh, yes, our daughter, Siobhan, and son-in-law, Jeffrey, have also been visiting, but they must take a distant second place to the grandchildren.

Ezekiel (left) & Phineas (right) and parents

Despite the rain we've been determined to have a good time. We spent two days at Legoland, a rather odd (to me) theme park located at the site of the old Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida. We dodged the thunderstorms enough to enjoy every ride several times and even spent a morning at Legoland's water park where the boys, aged four and six, proved to me that merely watching children have fun can be exhausting. The boys loved every moment of their time there.

Since Phineas, the younger of the two, has a real fondness for trains we also took a ride on the Orange Blossom Cannonball, an ancient train that runs out of nearby Tavares, Florida. The ride also included a train robbery complete with nasty outlaws, the local sheriff, dance hall girls, lots of shooting, and a strong box filled with cash. It was all very exciting.

Then Debby got serious and started dumping huge amounts of water on us. This will continue through the remainder of their visit, so we've been doing inside stuff to keep busy. Fortunately, we have a Wii game system here, which we use only when grandchildren visit. Yesterday we flew airplanes, bowled, engaged in exciting sword fights, and played a few rounds of golf -- all in our living room.

Train Robbery in Progress

Ezekiel, who has a fondness for tractors and all kinds of other heavy equipment that dig and move earth, will get a treat today since there is an International Harvester tractor museum only a few miles away in Leesburg, Florida. Since everything is indoors the rain will present no obstacle.

And so...that's why I haven't been very active. Sadly, however, the world has continued to spin out of control. A few interesting events have caught my attention:

Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood. Back when the so-called "Arab Spring" hit Egypt, most observers were proclaiming the events as nothing less than a victory for democracy over tyranny. Although the revolution in Egypt may have been led originally by young secularists, I always anticipated that the Islamists would end up in charge. Read my posts from January, February and May 2011 on the emerging events in Egypt:


Egypt on the Brink (Jan 28, 2011)


The Plight of Christians in Egypt (Feb 4, 2011)


The New Egypt: Islamist or Secular (May 17, 2011)

And now Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood has just won the country's presidency. I find it particularly interesting that a nation which has never had a free election in its long and varied history should elect those who will quite likely ensure any future elections will not be free.

Pray for the Christians of Egypt. They make up 10% of the population, but are under constant threat of persecution. With the Muslim Brotherhood assuming control, persecution will likely increase.


Fortnight for Freedom. Our U.S. bishops have finally come together to challenge the obvious attack on religious freedom represented by the Obama administration's Health and Human Services mandate. You can read more about it here on the bishops' website. We are now in the midst of their "Fortnight for Freedom" which extends to Independence Day, July 4, and urges all parishes to take part through prayer and efforts to increase awareness of the threat among parishioners.

The following video, made by Bishop John Noonan, the Bishop of Orlando, was shown at all Masses this past Sunday throughout the diocese.

Pray for our country.

Freedom to Choose the Good

The Obama administration's unconstitutional mandate that the health insurance offered by Catholic institutions must include contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients forces the Church either to compromise it's firmly held religious beliefs or to pay crippling fines and penalties. This attack on the religious freedom guaranteed by our Constitution has roused the Catholic community in the U. S. from what had seemed to be a near permanent lethargy. Indeed, from the reactions of the past week or so, one might conclude that President Obama and his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, have awakened a sleeping tiger. Catholics of every political stripe have responded in disbelief and anger to the President's decision, and have been joined by members of many other religious groups who realize correctly that something similar could and likely will happen to them.

We Catholics understand freedom as something other than unrestrained license; for as Christians we recall the words of Jesus: “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" [Jn 8:31-32] We are, therefore, called to the truth and are not free to choose a lie. Making such a choice is to opt for evil, to choose sin over goodness. Instead we are called to act freely in choosing the good. In other words, we are free to choose that which will lead us to live the virtuous life. This is true freedom. The Obama administration, by demanding that we Catholics choose something we consider morally abhorrent, something we firmly believe to be an evil, attacks the very basis of religious freedom by denying us the freedom to choose the good. This is something we can not accept.

The following letter by Bishop John Noonan of Orlando was posted on our diocesan website this week and will be read in our parish this Sunday at all Masses. 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I write to you concerning an alarming and serious matter that negatively impacts the Church in the United States directly, and that strikes at the fundamental right to religious liberty for all citizens of any faith. The federal government, which claims to be "of, by, and for the people," has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a quarter of those people—the Catholic population—and to the millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that almost all employers, including Catholic employers, will be forced to offer their employees' health coverage that includes sterilization, abortion-inducing drugs, and contraception. Almost all health insurers will be forced to include those "services" in the health policies they write. And almost all individuals will be forced to buy that coverage as a part of their policies.

In so ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, denying to Catholics our Nation's first and most fundamental freedom, that of religious liberty. And as a result, unless the rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled either to violate our consciences, or to drop health coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so). The Administration's sole concession was to give our institutions one year to comply.

We cannot—we will not—comply with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second class citizens. We are already joined by our brothers and sisters of all faiths and many others of good will in this important effort to regain our religious freedom. Our parents and grandparents did not come to these shores to help build America's cities and towns, its infrastructure and institutions, its enterprise and culture, only to have their posterity stripped of their God given rights. In generations past, the Church has always been able to count on the faithful to stand up and protect her sacred rights and duties. I hope and trust she can count on this generation of Catholics to do the same. Our children and grandchildren deserve nothing less.

And therefore, I would ask of you two things. First, as a community of faith we must commit ourselves to prayer and fasting that wisdom and justice may prevail, and religious liberty may be restored. Without God, we can do nothing; with God, nothing is impossible. Second, I would also recommend visiting http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/conscience-protection/index.cfm, to learn more about this severe assault on religious liberty, and how to contact Congress in support of legislation that would reverse the Administration's decision.

Most Rev. John Noonan
Bishop of Orlando

Echoing my bishop, I ask all who read this to call, write and email the president and your U. S. representative and senators to express your displeasure with this overt attack on religious freedom by an administration that has chosen to trample on the constitutional rights of its citizens.

Our New Bishop Installed

Yesterday our pastor, and four of our deacons, along with two of our wives, drove to Orlando and joined a few thousand other people who attended the Installation Mass of Bishop John Noonan, the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Orlando. The Mass was celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe in Orlando. Although the shrine church seats over 2,000 people, it was a standing room only crowd. I knew it would be crowded when the deacons were told our seating would be on folding chairs in the area at the back of the sanctuary. I suspect there were close to a hundred of us packed in back there.

The installation was performed by Bishop Noonan's predecessor, the fourth bishop of Orlando, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who is now the shepherd of the Archdiocese of Miami. Also present was the third bishop or Orlando, now-retired Bishop Emeritus Norbert Dorsey, along with quite a few current and retired bishops from other Florida dioceses. 

Archbishop Wenski (right) congratulating  Bishop Noonan at his installation

It was a beautiful Mass and the music was absolutely wonderful. The large choir and the musicians who accompanied them added much to the beauty of the liturgy. It was also evident that the people of the diocese were happy to meet their new bishop and to hear him preach. His homily was a moving call to do more to bring the Good News to the community at large, particularly to "the silent and forgotten among us."

Listening to him, one is reminded of his origins, for he still retains a bit of his Irish brogue. Born in Limerick, Ireland, Bishop Noonan, 59, came to the United States as a young man, eventually settling in the Miami area. Ordained to the priesthood in 1983 in the Archdiocese of Miami, he spent most of his subsequent ministry involved in education at both the high school and college seminary levels. This was evident during his homily when he paid special attention to the seminarians of the diocese and called them forward to be acknowledged by the congregation. As a consequence of his 15 years as rector of St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Bishop Noonan has a close relationship with many of these young men whose spiritual and intellectual formation was largely his responsibility.

Bishop Noonan receives a hug after his installation

After Mass several of us made a brief stop at the shrine's large gift shop, which is a great place to buy Christmas and other gifts. The shop also has a wonderful selection of religious books; and so, naturally, I bought a few. And for those who make the occasional family trip to Orlando and all its attractions and theme parks, I recommend stopping by the shrine for Mass and prayer during your stay in the area. It's located right off Interstate 4, not far from both Disney World and Sea World, and it's definitely worth a visit.

 

After leaving the gift shop it suddenly dawned on Diane and me that we were hungry. We had been up since 5 a.m. because we had to get the meal started at the the soup kitchen before heading off to the installation in Orlando. And now, late in the afternoon, we realized we hadn't really had anything to eat all day. And so another deacon and his wife joined us at a nice little steakhouse not far from the shrine. 

From there is was a 75-minute drive home where we faced the ongoing task of wrapping Christmas gifts before the grandchildren arrive next week. All in all, a good day, and a blessing for the local church of the Diocese of Orlando.

Keep our new bishop in your prayers.

Video Bio of Bishop John Noonan of Orlando

I found the following video provided by the Archdiocese of Miami. It's a brief biographical sketch of Bishop John Noonan, our new bishop here in Orlando.

Habemus Episcopum!

As of yesterday, October 23, the Diocese of Orlando has a bishop. Archbishop Thomas Wenski left us in June and was installed as Archbishop of Miami. Since then we've been without a bishop. But yesterday we learned that Bishop John Noonan will leave his position as an auxiliary bishop in Miami to become our shepherd here in Orlando. Click here to read the official announcement. This is wonderful news. No diocese should be without a shepherd for very long.  (It seems, then, we made a kind of trade with Miami, sending them an archbishop and getting a bishop in return. Hmmm...I wonder if we'll get some additional draft choices, perhaps a priest and a few deacons to be named later??) Sorry, it's Sunday afternoon and I've been happily watching the Patriots beat (barely) San Diego, so my mind is not completely focused on things ecclesiastical.

I don't know very much about Bishop Noonan, but I like what I just read in the online edition of the Orlando Sentinel in which the reporter briefly described the bishop's first homily in the newly renovated St. James Cathedral. He seems to be a humble man and happy to be here. From the little I've been able to learn about him, he is 59 years old, was born in Limerick, Ireland, and was ordained as a priest of the Archdiocese of Miami in 1983. Our diocesan website provided a brief biography of our new bishop. He will be installed on December 16.

Here's a link to a video of Bishop Noonan during the announcement of his appointment by the Holy Father. (Just scroll down to the bottom of the linked page.)

Our prayers are with Bishop Noonan as he takes on this challenging assignment. We wish him well.

In other completely unrelated news, Navy (my alma mater) handily beat Notre Dame yesterday 35-17. (That's Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs in the photo at left.) So very, very sad for all you fans of the Irish, but after all those years -- 43 to be exact -- of consecutive losses to Notre Dame, I am thoroughly enjoying Navy's recent victories: three out of the last four. I remember well the 1963 game in which Roger Staubach led Navy to a 35-14 win. I was a plebe (freshman) that year, which was the last Navy victory until 2007. Of course, there are far more important things in life than Navy beating Notre Dame in football: Go Navy, Beat Army!