It's All Interconnected

I have always loved coincidences, largely because I don't believe in them, and enjoy putting their seemingly disparate pieces together, showing how interconnected they all are. I actually believe that everything is a part of God's plan, that everything is connected. Nothing is mere coincidence. I don't mean to say that God plans all the evil in the world -- not at all. No, evil is there, all around us, because we too often welcome it, because we choose it. It came into the world when our first parents chose it and it's still hanging out with us. But God does make use of it, and to demonstrate His power, turns it into good. As St. Paul reminds us:  "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose" [Rom 8:28]. Did you get that -- "all things" and "according to His purpose"? That's why I don't believe in coincidences.

In my last post I mentioned how, at least as they relate to my life, the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, Hurricane Donna of 1960, and Hurricane Irma of recent fame are interconnected. All three came into prominence during the week of my birthday, September 13. In my post I focused only on the hurricanes themselves, but there was another interesting connection that tied me to that 1944 Great Hurricane, one that I had read about years ago, but had forgotten.

73 years ago, as that hurricane made its way up to New England, it took the lives of well over 300 people, most of them lost at sea. The largest number of these were the crew of a United States Somers-class destroyer, USS WARRINGTON (DD-383). The ship had spent much of the war serving in the Pacific and had just completed repairs in both New York and Norfolk. She was steaming south en route to Trinidad when she encountered the hurricane near the Bahamas. The high seas led to water pouring into the vents to her engineering spaces which ultimately shut down her propulsion system and resulted in her sinking. Of the 321 men aboard, only 73 were rescued. She sank on the very day of my birth, September 13, 1944. Two days later that same hurricane poured over 10 inches of rain onto St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the city where my mother gave birth to me, her second son.

USS WARRINGTON (DD-383) in 1938

I was born into an all-Army family. My grandfather served in the Spanish American War and the Boxer Rebellion, and my father served in World War Two. My older brother graduated from West Point in 1962 and served in Vietnam. The only person in our family who spent time in the Navy was an uncle, my mother's half-brother, who served as a seaman on a destroyer during World War One. I didn't know Uncle Bill all that well, but enjoyed my few conversations with him during my early teens. He died in 1959 when I was only 15. Anyway, on September 13, 1944 no one in our family would have anticipated that I would graduate from the U. S. Naval Academy in 1967 and eventually retire as a Captain in the U. S. Naval Reserve. But I did. All part of God's plan.

Commander Lewis Warrington

Here's another non-coincidental connection. The USS WARRINGTON was named for Lewis Warrington (1782-1851) a naval officer who fought the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean and later the British during the War of 1812. He was quite the hero during the latter war. Warrington went on to serve as temporary Secretary of the Navy and Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance. Now, that's all wonderful, but Warrington is also the name of a district of Pensacola, Florida, the neighborhood right outside the main gate to the Naval Air Station. It was, of course, named for Lewis Warrington. Where was my first assignment immediately after graduation from the Academy? To Pensacola where I would spend the next 16 months learning to fly naval aircraft. I also met Dear Diane in Pensacola where she had lived most of her young life. We were married at the NAS Chapel exactly 186 years after Lewis Warrington's birth.

Martha (Cavanaugh) McCarthy, RN

One more connection...The place so mistreated by the hurricane at the time of my birth, St. Vincent's Hospital, was also the hospital where my mother earned her RN and worked as a nurse. It was, of course, named for St. Vincent de Paul, the 17th-century French priest who devoted his life to serving the poor. Sixty years later, when we moved to Florida in 2004, to what parish was I assigned? St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Wildwood, Florida.

Now do you see why I don't believe in coincidence? I'd much rather believe in God, who I am convinced enjoys making all these wonderful connections in our lives.

Bye-Bye Irma (Irma #6)

She's gone...sort of. In the darkness of the early morning hurricane Irma passed right over us here in central Florida. It's now mid-morning and even though a weakened and less organized Irma is already in Georgia, we're still experiencing  tropical storm force winds upwards of 50 mph. We're told these will be with us for most of the day. After yesterday and this morning these gusts are no big deal. She's still a huge storm, though, spreading her rains and winds over hundreds of miles. Here's a radar view, more or less current:

The winds and rains howled and hammered all night, but we seem to have come through with little or no damage. Our trees lost a lot of branches, but from what I can tell, most were very small. I might have to make some repairs to our garage door, but other than that all is well. I stayed up until 3 a, m, and then finally grabbed a few hours of sleep. I think an afternoon nap might be called for.

Millions of Floridians are without electrical power, but here in The Villages, at least in our neighborhood, we seem to have lost nothing. We still have electricity, telephones, internet --  the bounty of the good life promised by modern civilization. The only thing I lost was AT&T cell service, but it's already back, up and running.

Now we're just thankful that we came through this safely. Occasionally God needs to remind us of the power of His creation. The humble recognize this and realize that as inhabitants of this tiny planet we're actually powerless little critters, totally dependent on His mercy. I trust those who mistakenly think they are powerful might come to accept the truth of God's omnipotence.

There is one powerful gift God extends to us: the power of prayer. And Diane and I thank you for your prayers. We also turn to our two patron saints, the martyrs St. Vitus and St. Elmo (Erasmus), and thank them for their intercession.

We pray, too, for those who are still feeling the effects of Irma. We have relatives and friends in northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina and pray for their safety.

As the hymn reminds us: "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow..." Yes, indeed, God is good.

With that, I'm finished with Irma -- no more updates.

Irma Heads Right For Us (Irma #5)

Well...the highly unpredictable Irma changed course after making landfall in Marco Island, Florida. Instead of heading off to the northwest as most of the tracking models predicted, she decided to charge ahead almost due north. The problem for us is that this new course will cause her to pass directly over us here in Sumter County. Arrgghhh.

The Villages, our massive retirement community of well over 100,000 residents, spans three Florida counties: Lake, Marion, and Sumter. Our home is in Sumter County and is apparently in Irma's crosshairs. According to the seemingly wise meteorologists of Orlando's Channel 9 (WFTV), we will experience some very high winds beginning around midnight and lasting for many hours. We can expect things to settle down around 7 or 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Right now I estimates we're feeling the effects of perhaps 50 mph winds, along with constant torrential rains. It's quite noisy so winds perhaps twice as strong should really keep us awake. No damage yet...well, no damage heard or seen, but it's a very dark night. I'll have to wait until morning to survey the exterior of the house. I'm still a bit concerned about the live oak trees behind the houses on this side of our street. Although I don't expect Irma to uproot these large tress, her strong, shifting winds will probably rip off some large branches. We hope none will damage any homes.

Diane and Maddie are both asleep. (It's now past 11 p.m.) As for me, the storm seems to have awakened me -- some sort of stimulant effect. I also feel a kind of manly sense of responsibility calling me to watch over Dear Diane and our home. I can't imagine going to bed while Irma roars just beyond our thin walls. And someone should stay awake in the event of a tornado warning, so we can all -- Diane, Maddie and I -- retreat to the guest bathroom, our only interior room with no windows. 

We still have electrical power and all the other utilities we've come to rely on. And for this we thank both St. Elmo and St. Vitus. Our diocese -- the Diocese of Orlando -- has placed a prayer on the diocesan website. I invite you to pray:

May God calm the storms of our heart.
Let us pray that God will calm the storms of our heart. May we remember to check on one another as the storms arrive – our coworkers, our neighbors, our friends, our families – to assure each other of our care and concern for our safety and well-being.

May He bring safety to all in the path of the storm

We pray for those in the path of the storm, for all evacuating to safety and for all who will work to serve our communities and protect the dignity of life. May we take care of ourselves, our loved ones and those God puts in our path.

Let us pray for protection

Lord of mercy, watch over and protect all of your children in the path of Hurricane Irma. Please protect us and guide us toward safe harbors as we take shelter in you. Amen.

It Begins (Irma #4)

The rains and wind have arrived in earnest. We're already on the receiving end of tropical storm force winds and the rain is coming down in buckets. It's hard to believe this is just a first taste of Irma's power. She is one very large storm, larger than any I've experienced, well over 500 miles in diameter. The forecast for our area is not encouraging. She will strengthen and hammer us throughout the night and into tomorrow.

A few moments ago I stepped out on the lanai and noticed that water is beginning to pool in the area between the houses. There's pretty good drainage back there but I'm not real confident it can keep up with a storm of this intensity. When hurricane Frances hit us back in 2004 we experienced some significant flooding behind our house, but it eventually drained off and did no damage. Water also seeped in under the front door. Fortunately we managed to sop it up with dozens of towels until the rains stopped. But we've had so much rain this summer that I'm afraid the ground is already waterlogged. We'll see.

Maddie viewing the empty lanai

Adding to the excitement are the tornadoes that accompany Irma. A dozen or so have already popped up in central and eastern Florida with several causing serious damage by uprooting trees and destroying mobile homes. One TV meteorologist commented that well over 10% of Floridians live in mobile and manufactured homes, a fact that explains why they are so often the target of severe weather: there's just a lot of them. The only good thing about hurricane-embedded tornadoes is their size and duration: they tend to be small and they don't last long.

Oh, yes, for those of you concerned about our lizards, on my brief visit to the lanai I noticed that Leo, the largest of our three lizards, apparently decided to come out of hiding. The below photo shows him comfortably waiting out the storm. We are pleased that all three seem to be doing well, and trust they will make it through the "dark and stormy night."  

Leo, the largest of our lizards

We still have electricity, telephone, cable and internet; and this is good. At my age the idea of reverting to a more primitive lifestyle is unappealing. Whether all of these modern conveniences will still function tomorrow morning is anyone's guess, but I'm hoping for the best.

Martyrdom of St. Erasmus (Elmo)

Interestingly, when it comes to things electrical or electronic, Diane always asks St. Elmo to intercede. This all began when I once described the phenomenon known as "St. Elmo's Fire," a form of electrical discharge that sometimes appears on the masts and rigging of ships. Because sailors considered them to be signs of St. Elmo's protective concern, they named the phenomenon after him. The patron saint of sailors (and I suppose that includes me), Elmo is more properly known as St. Erasmus of Formia. I suppose Elmo is just a nickname preferred by sailors. And here's an amazing  coincidence: St. Elmo and St. Vitus (remember him from my first Irma post) were both martyred in the same year, 303 A.D. Isn't that remarkable? Our two patrons -- Elmo, Diane's patron of things electrical, and Vitus, the patron of protection from storms -- returned to the Father at about the same time.

And so I ask that you join with us as we turn to these two saintly martyrs in prayer, asking for their combined intercession for all who are in the path of this devastating storm. 

God's peace.

Hello Irma (Irma #3)

We're still in an awaiting mode, with little to do but watch the easily excitable weather people on TV. They are, of course, in their glory since these significant weather events are relatively rare. But when severe weather does occur, the meteorologists take center stage and all other news fades into the background. I'm always amazed by their ability to come up with new things to say. After all, hurricanes are really just a lot of very strong winds and torrential rains, but these TV weather people dazzle us with graphs and charts and tracks and millibars and cones and all sorts of wonderful stuff to keep us watching. I especially enjoy the weather reporters in the field who stand in knee-deep water while they lean into 50-knot winds and tell us things we can't understand because the sound of the wind drowns out their words. Then they remind us to stay indoors because these storms are dangerous.

And yet I continue to watch.

Earlier this morning, after joining Maddie on her morning walk through the neighborhood, I took holy water in hand and blessed the house and the surrounding trees, asking God to keep us safe. Two of our three resident lizards watched me intently as I sprinkled the lanai and them. As you can see clearly in the below photos, both showed real interest. Lizzie, the smallest, clung to one of the screens, while Leonard watched from his favorite ledge. Leo, the big guy, was nowhere to be seen, but I suspect he's hiding under the grill, his usual place of retreat whenever I enter the lanai.

Lizzie on the screen

Leonard on the ledge

I hope that all three make it through the storm. Dear Diane suggested inviting them into the house, but I nixed the idea assuming Maddie might not accept them. She has never bothered, or even taken an interest in, our lanai lizards but asking her to share the house with them might be expecting too much.  

As you can tell, I seem to have far too much time on my hands today. There's nothing much to do except wait and pray and occasionally raid the cookie jar. Although this morning we've experienced a few passing squalls with some wind and rain, so far all is relatively calm. We're told this will change this evening. The worst will be with us throughout the night, so I expect I'll get little sleep. I hope Diane and Maddie sleep well, but someone has to stay up and keep an eye on Irma as she passes through.

As you can see by this fairly recent map of Irma's track (above), the experts still anticipate that she'll follow the Gulf coast as she heads north. If that actually happens, we will be just outside the eyewall and be subjected to some very strong winds. Should be a fun night.

Again, keep us in your prayers, and don't forget St. Vitus, who has a special way with storms.

Peace...

Irma Update (Irma #2)

With hurricane Irma less than 24 hours away, Dear Diane and I have been trying to prepare for her arrival. Our first task? Empty the lanai of all furniture, so it doesn't get blown through the glass French doors that open to the living room.

The task is complete, but I didn't expect the reaction of the three little lizards that have been living in our lanai for several months. I named them a few weeks ago, from smallest to largest: Lizzie, Leonard and Leo. It just seemed like the proper thing to do since they had become permanent residents. Anyway, I think they're upset about all the unexpected activity. Every time I moved a chair or table, they ran for cover, seemingly very concerned about these sudden changes. Now, with the lanai completely empty, they have no place to hide. They have been sitting together on a ledge and staring down at the large void that was once their adopted home. Sad, but I suspect they'll recover once the storm passes...assuming they survive.

I feel confident that we've prepared as well as two old folks can. We have gallons of fresh water, enough batteries, weather radios, ice for the coolers, flashlights, candles, two full gas tanks for the grill, ice cream, cookies, and the most important item, good neighbors. I also have a little Irish whiskey for myself in the event of an emergency.

Here's Irma's current location and anticipated track:

We're still hoping that Irma -- now moving rather slowly along the north shore of Cuba -- will continue on her westward course for a while before making that anticipated turn toward the north. If she skirts Florida's gulf coast we will receive some very high winds here in Sumter County, so I'd prefer her farther out to sea.

The latest forecast for our area calls for hurricane force winds upwards of 100+ mph for a rather extended period: 5 pm Sunday through 2 pm Monday. That's a long time to be battered by so much wind. The forecast also predicted 8 to 15 inches of rain. To emphasize the seriousness of all this, the forecaster told us to expect power outages, flooding, and tornadoes. All very encouraging.

And so we continue to ask St. Vitus to intercede for us and for all who find themselves in the path of this huge storm. And I ask you, my tiny but holy remnant of readers, to keep us in your prayers. Praise God!

Here Comes Irma (Irma #1)

I can think of no better place to live than Florida...except during a hurricane.

Irma, apparently a hurricane of historic proportions, has set her sights on Florida. Dear Diane and I happen to live smack dab in the middle of this great state, something which causes me more than a little concern. The latest predictions by the weather-guessers show the storm smashing into South Florida and then moving north, right up the spine of the Florida peninsula. If these forecasts are accurate, Irma, still packing hurricane force winds, should reach us sometime early Monday.

Because we live in Central Florida, between Orlando and Ocala, we will be spared the destruction caused by the storm surge that affects coastal areas. But the high winds and heavy rains could still take their toll. So much depends on the path Irma ultimately follows. If she makes a slight right turn and heads north along the east coast, the damage here will be lessened but the people of coastal Georgia and the Carolinas could find themselves facing an even stronger storm. She could instead take a left turn into the Gulf and run up Florida's west coast. This, too, would be better for us, but might hammer the folks who live along the Gulf Coast and in the panhandle. There's really no good scenario, so the best we can do is pray that God will be merciful and keep us all safe.

We have not received an evacuation order -- at least, not yet -- but if we do, it might be a challenge to convince Dear Diane to leave. Where would we go? she asks. Drive north to stay with relatives in Georgia or friends in South Carolina? From the forecasts it seems the storm will simply follow us. She intends to stay put and assumes that our central location will limit the damage that a weakened Irma could inflict. I pray she is correct.

In truth, The Villages tends to weather bad storms fairly well. We can only hope the community will withstand Irma's fury when she arrives. Back in 2004, shortly after we moved here, three hurricanes -- Charley, Frances and Jeanne -- visited The Villages, one after another, and caused some damage; but our well-constructed house survived all three storms. The large live-oak trees behind our house were not so fortunate, but despite all the lost limbs, the trees survived. Because all the utilities -- cable, telephone and electricity -- are underground here in The Villages, we didn't suffer any outages back in 2004. (Actually, as I recall, we lost cable TV for about 30 minutes, but that was the extent of it.)

My biggest concern is the potential flooding that could result from 10 to 20 inches of rainfall. We have excellent drainage here but I can't imagine any drainage system coping effectively with such high levels of predicted rainfall. We'll see.

But because I always want to be prepared, I stopped by the local Publix supermarket this morning and loaded up on the essentials: ice cream and cookies. I also bought  40 pounds of ice and stashed it in the freezer. I own an "enhanced" ice chest that will keep ice nice and icy for five days. I also have two full tanks of gas for the barbecue grill in the event we cannot use the kitchen range. And if we must leave, the car's gas tank is also full. I think I'm ready for whatever Irma throws at us.

Patron: Protection from Storms

Anyway, we ask that all you folks who live up in snow country keep us in your prayers. And pray, too, for those in the Caribbean who have already suffered so much devastation from this storm.

We thank God for all that happens, knowing He turns everything to good for those who believe in Him.

And, lest I forget, the patron saint of protection from storms is St. Vitus, a martyr of the early fourth century. And so we pray too for his intercession.

God's peace.

The Weather According to Matthew

The ubiquitous media has truly altered the way we observe and experience weather events. A week or so ago we began to hear about Hurricane Matthew as it formed, strengthened, and moved slowly through the central Caribbean, eventually becoming a dreaded Category 5 storm. Once its movement indicated a potential threat to Florida and the U.S. East Coast, the "weather establishment" shifted into high gear.

As it traveled north the storm caused catastrophic damage to poor Haiti, but this seemed a secondary concern. Yes, we're told that several hundred Haitians lost their lives and thousands more lost their homes and their few possessions, but isn't this to be expected? After all, it's Haiti! They're real poor down there, and backward, and live in shacks; they have poor construction codes, and probably don't even have a national weather service. Anyway, Channel Whatever Eyewitness News doesn't have a news crew down there; and if it's not on TV it mustn't be all that important. After Haiti Matthew scraped the eastern edge of Cuba and then rolled through the Bahamas, but we heard little about its effects in these places. All eyes were focused on Florida.

Hurricane Matthew Approaches Florida

Reporter in the Storm

The media frenzy really peaked yesterday, and hasn't ebbed a bit. At some point every local TV station in Orlando (the ones we are blessed to receive on our cable system) preempted their usual programming and offered round-the-clock hurricane coverage. One station even replaced Thursday Night Football with several meteorologists sharing their thoughts about millibars, storm surge, eye walls, forecast models, digital radar, and other wondrous things. Every station pre-positioned reporters and camera crews wherever they expect disaster to strike. This, of course, led to an interesting contradiction. As some poor, 100-pound, young woman reporter is battered on camera by hurricane force winds and driving horizontal rain, the studio anchors tell their audience not to be foolish by leaving their homes during the storm. Go figure!

As is often the case, the TV meteorologists focus on their worst-case scenarios and discuss other possibilities only in passing. This creates a sense of impending doom, that this storm will be like no other. I suppose such warnings are useful since they probably convince some reluctant people to evacuate threatened areas, but they also cause others to believe the danger was grossly overstated. 

The 24-hour coverage generates another problem: constant repetition. There's only so much to say about a storm. And now -- thanks to the internet, hurricane apps on our smartphones, Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, and push notifications -- information pours into our homes unceasingly. No doubt this flow of information has saved many lives, lives that would have been lost in the days when hurricanes appeared with far less warning. But an inundation of data and opinion can also confuse and lead folks to turn it all off.

Matthew's Coming!!

The media also provide a venue for our politicians to communicate their advice, concerns, and demands. Indeed, every few hours the governor, surrounded by his emergency management team, a collection of very serious-looking people, appears on screen and gives us an update. The governor and his team have apparently spent our tax dollars well and done an excellent job preparing for Matthew's arrival. Governor Scott, I am told, is a very nice man, but his reports seem so very gloomy. I suppose that's to be expected since he likely feels responsible for the safety of the people of Florida and hopes they will take the storm seriously. Even though the storm has obviously weakened -- it's now a Category 3 storm -- and has drifted slightly seaward, the warnings remain severe. At the same time, however, the meteorologists are almost apologetic because Matthew hasn't fully lived up to their expectations. They truly enjoy storms. It's all very interesting.

Governor Scott Updates the State

Here in The Villages we are on Matthew's western fringe and have experienced only periodic rain and wind -- nothing very substantial. But in anticipation of the storm, most local government offices and many businesses have closed. We even closed the Wildwood Soup Kitchen today. Yesterday Diane and I and our wonderful team of volunteers prepared a tasty meal for our guests, and then prepared an additional double brown-bag meal so no one would go without food today. We all went home tired but satisfied that the hungry would be fed.

As Matthew heads north we pray that it drifts farther out to sea and spares the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina. We also look forward to a little less weather and far less weather news.

Storm, Soup Kitchen, Funerals and more

It's been a remarkable week, one that has surprised us with the unexpected and taught us much and  blessed us through everyday experiences.

The most unexpected event was the storm that someone named Hermine. It's a rather odd name, isn't it? Do you actually know anyone named Hermine? I certainly don't. I'm not sure how they decide on these stormy names, but in recent years they have definitely changed, become far more exotic. Most people don't realize that earlier -- much earlier -- major storms were named after saints, most often the saint on whose feast day the storm first appeared. And then, for many years, storms went unnamed. For example, I was born in the midst of a storm that was called simply, "The Great Hurricane of September 1944." It wasn't until the early 1950s that the National Weather Service began to assign female names to hurricanes and major tropical storms. I remember well some of the storms that roared up the East Coast when I was much younger -- for example, Carol, Edna, Diane, and Donna -- all given rather common female names. It wasn't until the late 1970s that nascent political correctness led to the assignment of both male and female names to major storms. This change actually surprised me. I would have thought that the more radical feminists would approve of these impressive, mighty storms being given feminine names as a kind of metaphor reflecting the power of women. But no, political correctness trumps all and male storminess must be recognized as equal to that of women. But I digress...

Hermine made its appearance in the Gulf of Mexico early last week as the cleverly named Tropical Depression #9. It wallowed about in the gulf for several days before it began to display some organization and direction. By Tuesday the weather-guessers called for it to strengthen into a tropical storm and ultimately a hurricane, predicting landfall on Florida's west coast sometime early Thursday.

This forecast was particularly disturbing because Diane and I are the Thursday cook and captain at the Wildwood Soup Kitchen, and Wildwood, Florida was on the storm's predicted path. On Wednesday morning we finally decided to close the soup kitchen for Thursday, not wanting to subject our drivers who deliver meals or our walk-in guests to the dangers of a major storm. As it turned out, Hermine changed both course and speed, drifted to the north and west, and finally made landfall early Friday just south of Tallahassee. We were, therefore, spared its most damaging effects. We experienced gusty wind and heavy rain but nothing too exciting. Hermine has since moved up the East Coast and once again is wallowing about, this time in the Atlantic. And so we are able to share this storm with three of our children, who live in coastal New England.

In the midst of all this storminess, I have been asked to conduct two funerals, one vigil service, and one committal service, all in the space of four days. The committal will be at the National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida. As you might expect, because of our large retired-age population in central Florida, funerals, vigils and committals are common, much more common than baptisms and marriages.

Most funerals are celebrated in the church during Mass, but sometimes, for any number of reasons, a family wants a funeral outside of Mass in a funeral home. Because no Mass is celebrated we deacons are usually called on to conduct these funerals. I have always considered them among the most important liturgies I am privileged to conduct. For most people this is a time of real need, a time when confusion, emptiness, and doubt overwhelm the mind and heart. It is a time calling for the affirmation of faith, a time for the proclamation of God's Good News in the midst of man's bad news. But most importantly, it is a time to listen. And in the listening I have found these difficult times to be wonderful opportunities for evangelization. It's not unusual to encounter family members who have drifted away from the Church and are simply awaiting a call to return.

Anyhow, because of all this, I spend a considerable amount of time preparing for funerals and vigils and committals. I always try to meet with the family in advance, not only to learn about the deceased as a person, but also to get a sense of the relationships within the family. Out of this, the family's  spiritual needs become more evident, important considerations when selecting the Scripture readings and preparing my homily.

I conducted two of these services -- a funeral and a vigil service -- yesterday, while the other two are scheduled for early next week. I am truly humbled by the remarkable faith I encountered yesterday among the family and friends of the man and woman who had died. Even in their grief, they were aware of God's presence and His enduring love. How often this happens! How often do I come to realize the true holiness of God's people, a holiness that often far exceeds that of the clergy, of priests and deacons.

Just as I finished writing the last sentence we suffered a lightning strike. It was the closest and loudest strike I've ever experienced. The flash was right outside our master bedroom window, and the crash of thunder, being so close, was instantaneous and deafening. The circuit breaker for the bedroom electricity flipped off, the smoke detectors all sounded, and Maddie, the wonder-dog, was greatly displeased. Our neighbor just called on her cellphone and said their telephones are out and their PC was fried. We apparently are in better shape. Telephones and computers all seem to be working. I checked the attic for signs of fire, reset the circuit breaker, and gave the house a blessing. 

All seems well. God is good.

Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord;

praise and exalt him above all forever.

[Dan 3:73]

God's peace

Grandson and Hurricane

Our new grandson has arrived and has been given the name, Benedito. He was born early this afternoon (12:27 p,m.) at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Little Benedito weighed a healthy 8 lbs. 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. He and his mom are both healthy and happy. God has once again blessed our family with a beautiful gift.

We took his sister and three brothers to the hospital this afternoon so they could see their new brother and spend some time with him and their mom and dad. We all had a wonderful time and, of course, I took pictures (below).

Our big concern now, though, is the arrival hurricane Earl, although it looks as if the storm has both weakened and turned a bit seaward. This is good and we trust that by the time it arrives here on Cape Cod it will turn out no worse than the average nor'easter. I can hear the wind building up already and so must make a final tour of yard to ensure nothing loose is lying about.

Mom and son

Our daughter's entire family with newborn Benedito

Benedito, age 2 hours

Grandma (Diane) holding Benedito while Eddie looks on

Praised be God for all His goodness.


Blessings...

The Coming of Earl

Here I am, sitting at the kitchen table in the home of my daughter and son-in-law, waiting for a more accurate weather forecast. According to a forecast I heard early this morning, hurricane Earl just might hammer a couple of capes: Cape Hatteras and Cape Cod. Unfortunately, we are currently located in Hyannis, right in the middle of Cape Cod. And to add a touch of excitement to our situation, our daughter is expecting her fifth child with a due date, quite fittingly, of next Monday, Labor Day. Because we must all remain here, near both doctor and hospital, we will not be able to evacuate even if we wanted to.

What to do? I suppose we can do what all New Englanders do when a storm threatens: go to the store and buy bread and milk. Other than these traditional emergency preparations, we'll probably just sit here and wait for the new baby (as yet unnamed) and Earl, hoping that the former arrives before the latter. When I mentioned the possibility that my daughter and her husband consider the name "Earl", my suggestion was not well received. Go figure!

And so we wait and pray for a healthy baby and a hurricane that goes out to sea, far out to sea.

Pray for us and for fair winds...

The Priesthood and Women: the Last Word?

This morning, while browsing an online news site from Massachusetts, I came across an article about a woman who claims to have been ordained a Catholic priest. She and her husband now preside at a small chapel located behind the Harwich Port B&B they operate. (Even though I moved to Florida after 25 years in Harwich Port, I do not know the woman personally.) The article dates from 2005, shortly before her invalid ordination by a woman "bishop" in Canada. Her words, as reported on Boston.com the news website of the Boston Globe):

[Marie] David, who opposes mandatory celibacy for priests and is married to a former priest, shrugs off the possibility of being excommunicated by the church, saying ''there would be a sadness, but I refuse to recognize their authority to tell me that."

Then, later in the same article, she's quoted as saying, ''It's not accepted by Rome today, but that doesn't mean it will not always be accepted. The only way Rome will allow women to be ordained is we do it. It has to start someplace."

It just doesn't go away, this idea that the Catholic Church will eventually permit the ordination of women to the priesthood. This idea persists despite the Church's constant reiteration of its unchanging teaching on the subject. I suppose this persistence stems from today's concept of "progress," the idea that society must move relentlessly toward enlightenment, part of which includes a sort of ambiguous, non-judgmental, universal acceptance. To this way of thinking, then, the Catholic Church is simply another element of society and is, therefore, not exempt from this movement.

That's the big picture view; but there's also a little picture involved: the belief on the part of some women that they have a God-sent vocation to the priesthood. For them it's personal and this desire colors and distorts virtually every aspect of their lives, even their Christian faith itself. Here's another example from a story in the secular press (Lexington Kentucky Herald Leader):

As a young girl growing up in Milwaukee, Janice Sevre-Duszynska often fantasized about becoming a priest while helping clean the sanctuary of the church her family attended.

“I’d sit in the priest’s chair, go to the pulpit, make believe I was preaching and giving communion,” she said. “I thought, ‘Why couldn't I be up here?’”

Now, 50 years later, she will get her wish, but it could come with a price — excommunication from the Roman Catholic church. On Aug. 9, in defiance of the church’s 2,000-year ban on women in the priesthood, she will be ordained by Roman Catholic Womenpriests, an activist group that has protested the ban since 2002.

And so, sadly, her attempt to realize a childhood fantasy will lead only to her excommunication. Was this self-proclaimed childhood fantasy one in which she sought to serve God's Church and His people, or was it one in which she hoped to satisfy her own personal wants, to serve herself? I'll let you re-read her words and decide.

Of course, the article, like most coverage of the Catholic Church in the secular press, is in error. It states that the realization of her wish "could" result in her excommunication. The fact is, as a result of her "ordination" she incurs automatic excommunication. Neither the pope nor her bishop need do anything. She, in effect, excommunicates herself.

Both the big and little picture motivations behind this call for the ordination of women ignore one important fact: the Catholic Church will never permit the ordination of women. This is not my personal opinion, but reflects the consistent teaching of the Church for 2,000 years. It is a teaching stated perhaps most clearly by Pope John Paul II in his apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (May 22, 1994). In his letter the Pope, after outlining the Church's teaching on ordination, states unequivocally, "I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." In other words, this teaching is not something the Church can ever change because it is based on God's law not man's law.

This certainly won't deter those who are uncomfortable with the very idea of absolute truth and divine law, particularly when the truth conflicts with either their ideology or their personal desires. I am reminded of Pontius Pilate's sneering question of Jesus: "What is truth?" And so, even though Pope John Paul II has, from the Church's perspective, put the matter to rest, I expect we will continue to hear these strident cries for a change the Church can never and will never make. Another, more detailed document on the subject is the Declaration on the Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood (Inter Insigniores), issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on October 15, 1976.

When I visited the websites of some of the organizations to which these women belong, I was struck by the gnostic, new-age themes that seem to run through most of them. It's also apparent that in rejecting the Church's teaching authority on ordination they also reject its authority on many moral issues, including abortion and homosexuality. This isn't surprising. Once a person rejects the authority of the Church on one issue, it's no great leap to reject its authority on any issue. This, of course, leads one to question why, if they reject the Church, are they so intent on calling themselves Catholic? Pray for them.

As Catholics we are bound to accept the definitive teachings of the Church; and so if you find yourself at odds with the Church on this subject, I suggest that you not only read the relevant documents, but also pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you to accept this teaching that comes to us from Jesus Himself.

Rome Update. Watching hurricane Ike move slowly toward Florida has not been particularly pleasant. Not only is it a major hurricane (now category 3) and likely to cause much damage as it makes its way to the Northwest, but the latest reports predict its arrival sometime next Wednesday. Unfortunately, we are scheduled to fly out of Orlando on our way to Rome Wednesday evening. Our prayer is that Ike veers out to sea, far away from Florida, and causes no damage or loss of life.

God's peace...