Late Boomer

Requiescat in Pace Matthew McGrorty

2008-06-19T15:16:00.003-04:00

Matthew Mcgrorty passed away on June 18th. Please pray for the McGrorty and Croan families.

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers maybe sent in honor of Matthew McGrorty to Hope and Heroes Children's Cancer Fund - Solid Tumor Research, 161 Fort Washington Ave Irving Pavilion, 7th Floor New York, NY 10032

Info here

Merry Christmas

2007-12-23T14:17:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to my many readers. A special prayer for my brother-in-law who has received some bad medical news recently. Keep him, my sister and their 2 kids in your prayers this season.

Golden Compass

2007-12-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

Amy Wellborn handles the issue well on many fronts. I liked how she skewers the "it starts a dialog" defense by some of the useful idiots that cannot bear to say that anything is bad, especially if religious nuts don't like it.

Look at this way. After we finish with The Golden Compass, shall we break out
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to open up discussion on Judaism?

Perfect

Requiescat in Pace Sarah Rose Carlino

2007-11-12T20:08:00.001-05:00

Please pray for the Carlino and Moran families. Their daughter is now with God and her suffering is over. Sarah's mother Jodi is my cousin's cousin. The following is from a e-mail from my mom:

Last Tuesday, Sarah Carlino passed away.
Sarah spent as much of her four years at the Children's Hospital in Boston as she spent at home with her family in Lee, MA. Within a year of her birth, she started having seizures. These led to a number of surgeries - always with the hope that this operation would resolve the problem.
Sarah reached her fourth birthday never being able to walk and for the last year of her life, she could not utter a sound.
In July, the doctors gave up hope telling Jodi that they would arrange for hospice care so Sarah could spend her remaining days at home. On November 6, Sarah died in her mother's arms. Jodi wrapped Sarah in a blanket and drove - alone - to the funeral home.
[Jodi] demonstrated such strength and courage that eight people (doctors and nurses) from Children's Hospital traveled to Lee, MA for the wake and Funeral. Jodi spoke at the funeral, sharing some thoughts about Sarah and the very special bond they had. Again, demonstrating an inner strength that grew out of adversity.

New book by Jonah Goldberg

2007-11-03T19:20:00.000-04:00

I will be looking forward to this book. It looks like it could start many holiday dinner fights.

Funny TV Stuff

2007-09-06T11:25:00.001-04:00

For fans of 24

Funny Liturgical Stuff

2007-09-06T10:45:00.000-04:00

I loved this post over at the Curt Jester.

Mark Steyn

2007-09-04T16:18:00.000-04:00

I am currently reading Mark Steyn's America Alone. It is both amusing and scary at the same time. (It also allows me to engage in a little righteous indignation since I have 5 kids.) He also has a regular column in National Review, and he had a great line in the current issue. He started talking about his kid's second grade class doing some project about their carbon footprint. He goes on to make hay of "Think Globally, Act Locally" pablum. His last line is the money quote:

"The obsolescent boomer pieties that are now the core curriculum of our grade schools will be a laughingstock by the time those children graduate high school."

Please Pray for Matthew McGrorty

2007-07-15T23:59:00.000-04:00

Matthew is a 3-year old boy who lives in Bethpage. He has liver cancer, which has spread to other organs. If you live in the area there is a blood drive scheduled for July 23rd at the Bethpage Fire Department. Call Matthews grandfather Michael Croan at 516-681-5678 if you can donate.

Thanks

Edward Strassel

2007-05-19T22:56:00.000-04:00

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Edward Strassel.

Requiescat in pace.

Ask...somebody.

2007-05-05T07:39:00.000-04:00

The local paper (Newsday) has a weekly feature called 'Ask the Clergy' (Can't find it online.) I have noticed a few times recently that when they published a 'Catholic' response to a question they have featured a laywoman. One time a pastoral associate at a local parish and today Pat McDonough, a columnist for The Long Island Catholic. So, at least in Newsday, women may be ordained.

Instituted Acolytes in the DRVC

2007-05-03T22:44:00.000-04:00

My question:

Dear Bishop Murphy,

Are there any plans to start an instituted acolyte program in the diocese?

John M. M
The Answer:

no

That's it. No punctuation, no nothing. No, "The Bishop is supportive of many kinds of ministry, but at this time we have no plans to begin an Instituted Acolyte program in the DRVC. The Bishop urges you to contact your pastor to see how you may assist with some form of liturgical service. May God bless you."

VPI ( as it was called in my day)

2007-04-18T21:41:00.000-04:00

Pray for the souls of the departed.

I have not much to say that hasn't already been said, however Mark Steyn makes a good point (as usual).

The money quote "...we live in a selectively infantilized culture ..."

New Book by Chris Buckley

2007-03-30T08:45:00.000-04:00

Yahoo! I've read all of his novels and I cant wait to read this one.

Keep an Eye Out

2007-02-23T07:57:00.000-05:00

I am feeling mildly optimistic about this item in The Long Island Catholic concerning the purification of Eucharistic vessels. When the indult expired, I saw no change. When TLIC published a front page story stating that the indult was not going to be renewed or made permanent I saw no change. The reason for my optimism may come fom the very fact that these two stories were even in the diocesian paper. In the past there would have been nothing said about such 'meddling' coming from Rome. At least now there has been an attempt to out the word out. The story even spells out dates! Perhaps this signals a new commitment from the Bishop to follow the norms.

Credit Where Credit is Due

2007-02-19T11:12:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of fairness I would like to commend Fr. Degrocco on this week's column on the liturgy in The Long Island Catholic. The topic is the Introductory Rites. He gives specific examples on practices that are not appropriate (starting the Mass with "Good Morning"). Overall, a good column that gives proper liturgical context as well as addresses practices in the Diocese that mey be questionable.

Father De Grocco will be at my parish on Wednesday March 7th and 14th to speak on the Mass. Start time 7:30.

Letter to the Editor of The Long Island Catholic

2007-01-25T08:11:00.000-05:00

Editor
The Long Island Catholic
200 West Centennial Avenue
Suite 201
P.O Box 9000
Roosevelt, NY 11575

Editor:

When Fr. DeGrocco began his column on the Liturgy I was cautiously optimistic that it would really be s source for catechesis on the Mass. However, oftentimes after reading his column I am left with more questions than answers. This past week’s column, “Praying the Mass Part II”, which spoke about singing, posture, and procession, was a case in point.

On the issue of singing, I can understand his reticence to wade into one of the thorniest issues in contemporary liturgy. However, I would like to know if Fr. DeGrocco, or the Church for that matter, equates singing the Angus Dei with singing Let There Be Peace on Earth. Is there any distinction?

The next issue discussed in the column is posture during Mass. As always, Fr. DeGrocco picks an important topic but speaks in generalities. Reading The Long Island Catholic every week would lead me to believe that the proper posture during the Lord’s Prayer is to be standing with arms outstretched or to be holding hands. If there is a picture of people attending Mass it will, without exception, show them in the orans or hand holding position. I have no idea where this posture comes from, yet it seems to have been adopted almost universally, at least in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Should I assume this posture since, from what I can observe, it is universal?

Contrast this with the direction to bow at the words of incarnation during the Creed. It says to bow right there in the missalette, yet I seem to be the only person to do so. Priests, readers, altar servers, all standing, straight as a board. Fr. DeGrocco says, “The common postures that are to be observed by everyone are signs of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for worship.” In the context of what is actually practiced in most parishes in the DRVC, I have difficulty knowing what this means. Should I extend my arms during the Lord’s Prayer, mimicking the posture of the priest? Should I stand up straight during the words of incarnation? Fr. DeGrocco does convey the vague technical idea of what the Church teaches on posture during the liturgy, but he fails to put it into relevant context.

That said, during the last third of his column, the part dealing with procession, Fr. DeGrocco turned a phrase that jumped out at me. When he was writing about processing up for communion he states that we must be careful not to “… create a perfunctory atmosphere of mechanical efficiency.” It is in this part of his column he narrows his focus and has addressed something relevant on the ground in our parishes, the hyper-efficient way that the faithful are herded toward Communion. Does the processing row-by-row make receiving the Eucharist perfunctory? Am I in a state of grace? Have I been to Confession? Before the conveyor belt method of receiving Communion was developed, processing to the altar was much more of a conscious act. Communion would begin and each member of the congregation would have to ask himself, “Am I ready?” Now, it is more like, “Oh, it’s my turn.”

I would hope that Fr. DeGrocco would find some way to address some of the specific ways that the Liturgy is practiced in the parishes of the Diocese. He has a unique platform to educate the faithful on why they do certain things at Mass. Putting these things in context would make them more meaningful to those in the pews.

Good catch by the Den Mother

2006-12-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

http://denmother.blogspot.com/2006/12/so-much-for-illegal-aliens-doing-jobs.html

Merry Christmas

2006-12-20T22:26:00.000-05:00

God bless us all in the coming year.

Men at Mass

2006-08-08T20:52:00.000-04:00

We have a priest visiting from the Philippines. Every week that he has said the mass that we usually attend he ends his sermon by saying "Blessed are the fathers that BRING their families to Mass as opposed to those who SEND their families to Mass." I do not know if there have been any complaints to the rectory, but I imagine he could catch more flack for that comment than for saying something about sex / masturbation / abortion / gay marriage.

Note to self: Send positive letter to rectory.

Today's Gospel

2006-02-08T09:43:00.000-05:00

As I am on a diet I thought today's gospel reading was good for putting things in perspective. Something to remember as Lent approaches and I am deciding between giving up coffee or alcohol.

GospelMk 7:14-23

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,“Hear me, all of you, and understand.Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;but the things that come out from within are what defile.” When he got home away from the crowdhis disciples questioned him about the parable.He said to them,“Are even you likewise without understanding?Do you not realize that everythingthat goes into a person from outside cannot defile,since it enters not the heart but the stomachand passes out into the latrine?”(Thus he declared all foods clean.)“But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.From within the man, from his heart,come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,adultery, greed, malice, deceit,licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.All these evils come from within and they defile.”

2006-02-03T20:34:00.000-05:00

Good news from the Bishop. I'll be the first to admit that I was skeptical about Bishop William Murphy, however, his recent appointment to be rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary as well as this story give me hope. No, scratch that, I am optimistic about the future of Catholicism in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Pray for the Ryan Family

2005-08-18T07:15:00.000-04:00

Say a prayer for the family of Annemarie Ryan. I do not know her personally, but I have coached soccer with her husband for many years. I have no idea what happened, but regardless, this is a family in crisis and they need our prayers.

While you're at it pray for the family of Mike Forman as well. Our kids go to school together and I went to high school with his wife. Again, I have no inside information on what happened.

Both cases are troubling to me and my family. The other night my wife asked me if I was doing anything that might get me arrested (No.) I believe that in each of these cases the arrest came as a surprise to the spouses and kids.

Muzak Alert

2005-07-29T07:43:00.000-04:00

Muskrat Love by The Captain & Tennille. It's going to be a bad day.

Muzak Alert

2005-07-29T07:26:00.000-04:00

Leave Me Alone by Helen Reddy. My wife actually bought Helen's greatest hits so she could play this song for the kids after hearing "What's for dinner?" for the 1,000th time in one day.

Muzak Alert

2005-07-28T11:17:00.000-04:00

Superstar, by the Carpenters. "Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh, Baby"

Childhood's Eternity

2005-07-28T06:56:00.000-04:00

The recent flip flop flap involving the Northwestern Univ. Athletes dovetails nicely with a piece by Frederica Mathewes-Green in the recent issue of First Things titled Against Eternal Youth. (Not available on line yet). She raises the issue of the never-ending adolescence of most baby boomers and how they compare to prior generations. This is a thread that I will explore over the next few days (weeks?).

The issue may take me many different places from middle-aged moms with bare midriffs to grown men who wear baseball jerseys and athletic shorts to church. It is also of interest to me as I try to raise my 5 children in a society that is working against me.

Why don't we start with one of my favorite gripes about the youth culture - the ubiquitous use of first names. I will be going to a BBQ this weekend and my kids will probably be the only ones to say the words Mister or Missus. Although, I think my neighbors know enough about my un-coolness that their kids usually call me Mr.

Maybe this whole fixation is because I was never one of the cool kids.

Muzak Alert

2005-07-25T07:24:00.000-04:00

The One That You Love by Air Supply...pain...blacking out...

This should be interesting

2005-07-21T08:05:00.000-04:00

China drops its currency's tie to the dollar. How many thing do you buy that aren't made in China? A good friend of mine once told me that his family did not buy things from China, not an easy thing to do. I believe it was over their forced abortion policy. Occasionally I will notice how everything is made in China and I will get a flush of admiration for him.

Sandra D. makes me even happier she's gone

2005-07-21T07:44:00.000-04:00

See here. (registration required)

Boston Liberals Stuff

2005-07-14T12:21:00.000-04:00

Good comments over at Open Book.

Muzak Alert

2005-07-14T07:22:00.000-04:00

Did anybody really have to remake R Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly?

"I Was Robbed"

2005-07-14T06:54:00.000-04:00

I was reminded of this piece over at Kelly's blog. It is one of my all-time favorites and it really inspired me to re-examine my faith, specifically the things that I wasn't exposed to or were not getting through to me from the contemporary church .

Read, and react.

Boston Catholics

2005-07-13T22:32:00.000-04:00

Patrick over at Extreme Catholic links to a Boston Globe article about Sen. Rick Santorum's comments about the scandal in Boston and the prevailing liberal atmosphere in that city. This is of interest to me, having a lot of family in Boston. I wonder if it is the liberal culture or the liberal Catholic culture that had an effect (if any). Additionally, it occurs to me that Catholics are a large part of the elite in Boston. Did this have an effect on Cardinal Law? What if it was a liberal city with a relativly small/isolated Catholic population? I wonder what the Pew Lady would say?

This makes me think about the issue of Catholic schools, secondary and college. I am torm between sending mt kids to a Catholic school and being exposed to more catholic culture (I wish) and sending them to a secular school where they may feel that they are different (I wish.)

Muzak Alert

2005-07-13T08:17:00.000-04:00

Torn Between Two Lovers

Muzak

2005-07-13T08:11:00.000-04:00

We have piped in music here at work. Usually I ignore whatever is playing and treat it as background noise. Occasionally, a particularly hideous song (usually from the '70s) will make the rotation and it will catch my ear. As this happens I will put out "Muzak Alerts' with the title of the song. Feel free to share memories of summer road trips listening to A.M. radio.

Process

2005-07-06T09:04:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am working on this blog. FYI the title refers to my being born in the last year of the Baby Boom, 1964. Although I am part of the demographic I do not culturally feel that I am part of the boom.

Hopefully, this blog will give me an outlet to vent on matters political and religious. Topics I should try to avoid with my family.

Welcome

2005-04-29T17:16:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my blog.