Thoughts on the big news from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles :)

Cardinal Mahony has been removed from all public duties (the link will take you directly to the letter)

A few blogs and news stories have their thoughts...here, here, here here, here here

My emphasis and comments in the letter from Archbishop Gomez...and further comments below




















































Post Script thoughts:

1) One of the priests that was accused, I knew personally...He was pastor of the parish I was attending when my mom passed away. I would never think of him doing anything like that. It sickens me to think that....Fortunately his accusation did not occur at the parish I was attending. He was a people person...People persons bring out my extrovert radar...

2) To say that I'm surprised by any of these things, well, no, I'm not at all. The vast majority of people have known about the horrors of the situation in this archdiocese for a while. I have a feeling more will be to come.

3) I truly think the transformation of the diocese can begin...With Gabino, Mahony and Curry all gone, I think the good Archbishop will finally have a chance to direct things easier. No longer will he have to be stuck in Mahony's shadow.

4) It's very important that we pray for the archdiocese, even though I no longer call it home, I am from there, and have a deep connection to the diocese there.

5) Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank Archbishop Gomez for this leadership step. I imagine being a Bishop is something that isn't easy (I definitely don't want the vocation)...and I imagine having to tell a brother Bishop that he's no longer welcome for public appearances is a difficult task. I am glad you're taking steps and doing all that is necessary to protect us from this happening again. Again, thank you Your Excellency. Prayers for you as always!

My brothers and sisters in Christ,This week we are releasing the files of priests who sexually abused children while they were serving in theArchdiocese of Los Angeles.These files document abuses that happened decades ago. But that does not make them less serious.I find these files to be brutal and painful reading (I am sure he wanted to use more brutal words than these, but yes, I too have read them and they are painful and sickening). The behavior described in these files is terribly sad andevil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children. The priests involved had theduty to be their spiritual fathers and they failed.We need to acknowledge that terrible failure today. We need to pray for everyone who has ever been hurt bymembers of the Church (Amen!, it's difficult when someone you woudln't expect to hurt you does hurt you). And we need to continue to support the long and painful process of healing theirwounds and restoring the trust that was broken.I cannot undo the failings of the past that we find in these pages (No amount of money will fix the pain of abuse). Reading these files, reflecting on thewounds that were caused, has been the saddest experience I’ve had since becoming your Archbishop in 2011 (It certainly can't be a good one, my prayers double for you this day).My predecessor, retired Cardinal Roger Mahony, has expressed his sorrow for his failure to fully protectyoung people entrusted to his care (Hindsight is always 20/20, but the bottom line, he knows the law and should have done more). Effective immediately, I have informed Cardinal Mahony that he will nolonger have any administrative or public duties (No more public appearances: Confirmations, any public represntation in the Diocese, effectively a muzzle clause long over due, but Deo Gratias). Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry has also publiclyapologized for his decisions while serving as Vicar for Clergy. I have accepted his request to be relieved of his responsibility as the Regional Bishop of Santa Barbara. (What this means for him, I don't know)

 

To every victim of child sexual abuse by a member of our Church: I want to help you in your healing. I amprofoundly sorry for these sins against you (Archbishop Gomez is a warm personality while quite shy, but he does have a pastor's heart. If you need to speak with him please do, I have spoken with him twice and he is very approachable and listens to your concerns).To every Catholic in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, I want you to know: We will continue, as we have formany years now, to immediately report every credible allegation (This is important, priests are falsely accused at times) of abuse to law enforcement authorities andto remove those credibly accused from ministry (I'd prefer convicted by the justice system, I do believe that priests are innocent until proven guilty). We will continue to work, every day, to make sure that ourchildren are safe and loved and cared for in our parishes, schools and in every ministry in the Archdiocese.In the weeks ahead, I will address all of these matters in greater detail. Today is a time for prayer andreflection and deep compassion for the victims of child sexual abuse.I entrust all of us and our children and families to the tender care and protection of our Blessed Mother Mary,Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Angels.Sincerely yours in Christ,Most Reverend José H. GomezArchbishop of Los Angeles

Thought of the day

If speaking can be kept under 1 min...all is good. :p

Thought of the day

The speed of someone's ability to understand a concept should not prevent one from teaching them.

for fun :)

me!

Some thoughts on recent events.

a. The gun-control debate...The executive orders...etc

It's already illegal to have military rifles in the general public. So it is illegal to have an assault rifle, as well it should be. A military weapon in the hands of an untrained civilian well, all hell would break loose.

There are differences between a semi-automatic and an automatic rifle. Can they be converted? Not without a bit of difficulty and a working knowledge of both systems. I'm a physicist and could probably do it no problem, but for the vast majority of people, this would not be the case.

There's an order limiting the size of magazines....well, one of course wouldn't need large capacity magazines....unless one missed the target ;)...then you'd be wishing darn well you had those high capacity magazines.

It's funny, evil can't be legislated away, but good can be. The majority of the people follow the laws that are on the books. We know that response teams aren't going to be instantaneous...It's best to have a situation where you have something and not need it, then not have it and do need it.

We need to stop making heroes out of the shooters and start supporting those that put an end to these kinds of things. No amount of "gun legislation" is going to fix this problem. People need to be allowed to put a stop to this....

I do support background checks...that doesn't mean that those that get their hands on a gun illegally will be stopped from doing so....Gun control works...just look at what happened in China, USSR and various other countries where gun control has been initiated.

b. Manti-Te'o

Why is this guy news? Who cares what happened between him and is fake online g/f. I mean really who cares...

c. Lance Armstrong

I knew he doped from the moment he won his first. And here's how I got there. Testicular cancer = low testosterone levels...must have artificial substances to make it normal. When registered on the test...will come out above normal for him precisely because of such manners....Ergo he doped. It comes as no surprise to me at all....and it shouldn't surprise anyone.....

d. The new manual coming out telling priests how to celebrate Mass.

Will probably be ignored by most of the priests....Unless it states explicitly ad orientem worship is to be done for all Masses, and Communion kneeling is to be given at all Masses. with the wrath of God warning at the end if it's not followed ;).

Receiving on the hand vs. receiving on the tongue...Standing v. kneeling

I've been reading many entries on restoring Communion Rails, and reflections on postures for Holy Communion, and I figured I'd share my own.

a. Some memories from my youth.

At my parish when I received my first Communion. I do remember there being a kneeler. We received in the hand, but I remember practicing in a warehouse with a kneeler. While I didn't have the vocabulary at the time to express this, the priest was traditional and devoted to Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament.

To say that I understood completely what was going on would be a lie. I was the prototypical not really paying much attention during class kid during religious edumacation classes. I probably got in more trouble than I could remember. I was extremely sarcastic and still am to this day on many fronts.

b. Receiving in the Hand

Did I know it was the Body of Christ? Yes!, Was I able to express that fully? Absolutely not. Perhaps to say in my own human weakness, receiving in the hand became an ordinary type of habit. Walk up, receive Communion, go sit down, repeat next Sunday. I am of course very habitual person, and someone who likes routine, so thus it was every Sunday. Acknowledgement of the Mystery? Nope, not at all. It was almost robotic in a sense, literally going through the motions.

c. The switch

After I came back to the Church after a while of being away. I started to study everything I could with great detail and curiosity. I studied with great detail the Church's teaching on the Eucharist, and the different historical references. Once I saw Vatican II didn't change the practice, I made the switch.

d. The results

Receiving on the tongue has indeed made me a bit more conscious of the Mystery of Christ in the Eucharist. I've noticed myself going to Confession more frequently than I used to in the past. Believe me, I still have a long way to go and am very much a sinner. I also find myself examining my conscience more, and not going to Communion as often. Perhaps because this is something that is out of the ordinary, it's not something that is within my normal habits of everyday person.

I think receiving on the tongue is definitely better than receiving in the hand. Our Holy Father has been teaching us through the Liturgical Celebrations that we should be receiving on the tongue kneeling. (Which I'll get to shortly kneeling vs. standing). It does better convey in my own mind that something different is going on. That Someone (Jesus) is truly present in the Eucharist. And the resulting change has allowed me to better express my Faith in Him.

e. Standing...

Standing is such a mechanical and everyday thing for the vast majority of people. It's something that we do often. Whether it's to go to the store, walking, playing sports or various other things. For me I have metal in my leg and hips, and thus sometimes, it's a bit difficult for me to walk. Especially when the weather gets to single digits. Standing felt very much like an assembly line. There was no real time to prepare to receive Him in Holy Communion. At parishes where they stand for Communion, I find myself being nit picky and noticing how others are receiving Communion, which I probably shouldn't be doing. I don't think Standing in the Western Rite of the Church conveys the mystery of the Eucharist. Standing does not seem like Adoration. I have been to Divine Liturgies in the Eastern Rite, and in their Liturgies it makes sense to stand to receive Him standing there. In the theology of the Liturgy, in the Eastern rites, standing fits. In the west it does not. Also in the East, we did prostrations during the Liturgy.

f. Kneeling

I first started to kneel for Holy Communion around 2007. It came as a logical progression. From genuflecting before receiving Christ in Holy Communion, to just staying down. Really reading the words of the Holy Father helped to enlighten my view on this point. Back in California where the weather wasn't so bad kneeling wasn't too much of a problem for me. But it's because of the Love of Christ in the Eucharist that I kneel, not because I'm necessarily obligated to. Though the obligation helps (by that I mean the norm in the Roman Church, not the exception granted to the USCCB)...

I have lived in Idaho, going on 2 years now. It gets rather cold up in these parts. Kneeling has become a bit more of a chore than it is in warmer climates. To that effect, the parish that I go to has altar rails, so it's easier to kneel and get back up.

g. The Restoration of the Sacred

Altar Rails would assist at least in my humble opinion would assist in the restoration of the sacred. Some liturgists view them as barriers, if anything quite the contrary, I view them as more uniting than the altar rails not being there. My own dignity as a lay person is respected more with the altar rails than without them being there. Now to be fair, I have served at the altar many times. In those roles however, I am properly vested to serve at the altar and do my best to hide myself and serve the rubrics of Holy Mother Church.

The external reminders of what we interiorly believe are so important. Without these reminders, things become routine, and robotic and are no longer personal. I guess a way to say it is our adoration becomes stagnent and doesn't grow deeper. Now to be fair, I guess it can work even with kneeling and receiving on the tongue this state can occur as well. But it is less likely, as it takes physical effort to kneel and the reflexes are not instantaneous.

h. Things I have witnessed as an altar boy/in the pew

I too have seen people walk with the Host to their pew and chew Him like cracker. I have seen people run off with the host out of the Cathedral (San Jose), and various other sacrileges. Now will receiving on the tongue kneeling reverse this? Of course not, those that wish to do evil will find ways to do evil regardless. But it will reduce this from occurring.

So yes, bring back the altar rails, and while we're at it, let's turn those altars back around too :D

Pax Vobis

7/2 Timeout Tuesday the welcome back to the game version

h/t to AOA of course...Now that I have some time on my hands, I'm back

1) ND was in the national title game vs. Alabama yesterday. Sorry, but ND didn't stand a chance. I mean EWTN is in the same diocese as the University of Alabama. ND was screwed ;).

2) Yesterday was the first day of Christmas for many Orthodox and Eastern Catholics. A blessed Christmas season to y'all.

3) At the host of this interwebs meme, he said to pray for Jen, and so I will (and I'm sure all of you will to)

7/2) Continue to pray for me....no details at this time as to why :)

Error vs. heresy and Vatican II things the SSPX can learn.

Something that has come across my mind lately. I have often heard in the traditional circles that Vatican II erred on *insert thing x, y or z.* What crosses my mind often is the difference between error and heresy.

Perhaps a formal definition would be a way to start, but I'll forgo that in exchange for a different approach.

If I say Force = mass times acceleration. (A form of Newton's 2nd Law)....I'm stating a mathematical reality, but not a physical reality. If I say this, there are somethings that must be understood

• by Force we mean a resultant force, or the vector sum of all the forces added together. It is not an individual force at all that causes an acceleration
• the resultant force is what causes the acceleration, NOT the other way around. 
• mass is not merely a proportionality constant, but a measure of the resistance to motion (inertia), thus if there is more resistance to motion, less acceleration it has, and less resistance it has the greater acceleration that exists. 
• force does not have a mathematical definition as mass times acceleration. 

There is no intentional denial of these details by those that say it. The intention to use the easy form of the equation to memorize isn't an intrinsic evil or anything horrible. It's just that without these details, the conclusion that will be reached will be a false one. 

It would be better to state that acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the resultant force and inversely proportional to its mass. ( a = F/m). As this shows the cause of a change in motion (the resultant force) and the measure of this change (mass, inertia). It's a minor detail,  but we realize that little details add up. 

So you may ask, what the heck does this have to do with error, heresy and Vatican II? All of the pieces will be put together...just be patient. 

When we say something is erroneous, this doesn't necessarily imply anything, other than the conclusion reached was wrong. It doesn't necessarily mean that the intention behind the wording was evil. Something erroneous can simply be incomplete, it could be totally right. 

Like in my example, without the details to assist you in understanding F = ma, the conclusions that you could reach would be wrong. There in lies the problem. Error leads to other things happening which are far worse than the given intention. 

Heresy is the denial of a dogmatic teaching of the Church. It can be intentional (formal) or unintentional (material). 

Heresy is one of the strongest words in the Church and should be used with caution. 

I hear often in some circles that Vatican II was erroneous in *insert x, y, z*....well, what are the possibilities of this?

• Said teaching is correct, but if not understood properly will lead many to the wrong conclusion.
• Said teaching is wrong and will lead others to the wrong conclusion. (but not heretical)
• Said teaching is correct, but could have been stated better. 
• Said teaching is correct, the logic behind the statement is horrible though. 
• Said teaching is wrong and HERETICAL to boot

Let's take a look at each of these. 

1) Said teaching is correct, but if not understood properly will lead many to the wrong conclusion. 

Here's a quote from Sacrosanctorum Concilium (1, 14)

14. Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:4-5), is their right and duty by reason of their baptism.

In everyday parish life many of us have seen the warping of this very paragraph. In the English language active is typically interpreted as having to do something. For example, I have an active lifestyle: I play sports and teach physics. Activity involves doing. Precisely because of this understanding in the English language we have seen the following

• Lay people reading
• Lay people singing EVERYTHING
• Lay people distributing Holy Communion during Mass
• Hand motions galore
• Lack of Silence
• Various other things which I'm sure we could continue this list forever.

The thing is that none of these things in of themselves are evil or horrible. The problem is that these things have been taken to the extreme (and semi-logical conclusion). Things need to be brought in balance and in their proper perspective. 

Liturgy is multiple parts functioning each in their own dignity for the greater glory of God. This must be restored. 

As has been mentioned ad nausem by various people actual participation, is not active participation.  Actual participation means interior participation and when necessary exterior participation. Basically what I'm saying is that what the Council intended ended up having a reverse clericalism effect. That even though the things that happen now in the present aren't in of themselves evil or horrible, but our own dignity as lay people has been lost by us doing these things. It's as if being a lay person isn't good enough. Last time I checked there aren't that many clerical Saints. ;)

2) Said teaching is wrong, and will lead others to the wrong conclusion (but not heretical)

How the Church deals with man-made religions is not a matter of dogmatic teaching. So to say the least it's a matter of prudential judgement. One can disagree with how others are dealt with. There are some important points that can't be lost

• The Catholic Religion is the One True Religion...all others are false. No matter how good intentioned they are. It does not mean we need to treat them as if they're the next coming of Satan on earth.
• Indifferentism is a sin 
• Religious freedom is the ability to practice religion as one ought (aka: the Catholic Faith), other religions are tolerated.
• Man does have free will, but with free will comes responsibility to pursue Truth. 

There are some that see ecumenism as glorified indifferentism. In some situations because of human weakness that is exactly what has happened. It most certainly wasn't intended but that's what comes across. (As they say it's not what, but how)

Things to fix the dictatorship of relativism/indifferintism have been taken. There are many situations where the Holy Father has declined to pray with religious leaders. Calling all to conversion is the job of all of us and the Holy Father most certainly. Most certainly it is not just calling all to the Catholic Faith, but interior conversion as well that we are able to better live lives in Christ. 

3) Said teaching is correct, but could have been stated much better. 

From Lumen Gentium

12. The holy people of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office; it spreads abroad a living witness to Him, especially by means of a life of faith and charity and by offering to God a sacrifice of praise, the tribute of lips which give praise to His name.(110) The entire body of the faithful, anointed as they are by the Holy One,(111) cannot err in matters of belief. They manifest this special property by means of the whole peoples' supernatural discernment in matters of faith when "from the Bishops down to the last of the lay faithful" (8*) they show universal agreement in matters of faith and morals. That discernment in matters of faith is aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth. It is exercised under the guidance of the sacred teaching authority, in faithful and respectful obedience to which the people of God accepts that which is not just the word of men but truly the word of God.(112) Through it, the people of God adheres unwaveringly to the faith given once and for all to the saints,(113) penetrates it more deeply with right thinking, and applies it more fully in its life.

This is most certainly true...That said, it'd probably be a lot easier if were said this way:

The Church participates in the Prophetic Office of Christ:

• Living the Faith in the fullness of charity
• offering intentions at Holy Mass
• Christened to battle the secular world with the Sacrament of Confirmation
• By the charism of infallability in the matters of Faith and Morals
• She is lead by the Holy Ghost to all Truth.
• The Laity in their love of God obey the Bishops in Union with the Holy Father

4) Said teaching is correct, but the Logic behind it is horrible

From Sacrosanctorum Concilium again

Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend the divine plan of salvation to all men of each epoch and in every land. Consequently, may every opportunity be given them so that, according to their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church.

The problem is two fold. This does not happen without the Grace of God. And Sanctifying grace is found through the Sacraments. So while certainly this is what we're supposed to be doing....let's switch the logic flow. 

The laity, with the sanctifying grace from the Sacraments, rests the duty to teach and evangelize the Catholic Faith to all men and in every nation. With their talents and understanding the needs of the culture, the lay may participatie in the call of Christ to teach all nations (Matt 28, 19)

From God---> to man ---> to work..

5) Said teaching is wrong, and heretical to boot. 

Guess what you're not going to find heresy in the 2nd Vatican Council. 

What needs to be done for all involved?

• There are different perspectives to theology. Being Augustinian is different from being Thomistic. Both are equally valid perspectives in theology. Thomas is more linear, Augustinian may require more explanation.
• Errors can't be assumed to be heretical. Errors should be assumed as mistakes that need fixing. 
• Learn different formulations for the same concepts. Eventually one can be found that all will agree upon. 
• Most importantly, pray a clean heart make for me O Lord

Pax Vobis

The longest blog entry in the semi history of blog entries.

My apologies for not writing earlier. Unfortunately I have been quite busy with this thing called real life. Sometimes it gets in the way of the more fun online world. So let me say a bunch of stuff in hopes of catching up thoughts....

a. A blessed Christmas season.

One of the joys of being Catholic is that Christmas isn't merely a day long. We get the Liturgical Octvave of Christmas, and Epiphany tide. So thus, Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope that all of you have had many blessings bestowed upon you.

Christmas is the season to receive the Child Jesus.

I went to midnight Mass at St Mary's in Pendelton, best midnight Mass I have been to in a while. Benedictine arrangement, orthodox homilies, and the Communion Rail is get this used :D. Communion is distributed by Intinction at the rail kneeling....I wish all parishes did this...please keep Fr Clemens in your prayers. I'm sure it's going to be an uphill battle for him. I must say it was beautiful to see virtually everyone receiving on the tongue and kneeling at the altar rail.

b. Thoughts on the Sandy Hook shooting...

Stupidity can't be legislated against, but good can be. Those of us that are trying to do good often get punished by those that do evil or those that act contrary to the law. We need to be more attentive to the signs of mental instability. No, we do not need to have more gun control, but it's probably not a good idea to give someone who is depressed a gun, nor is a good idea to give someone with tendencies towards violence towards others a gun. The federal gov't can't even balance a budget, they certainly are not going to solve school violence. If anything, problems need to be solved at the local level. However as I said, these problems can't be solved by legislation. They have to be solved by a whole sale transformation of society.

c. The Fiscal Cliff manufactured by our own stupidity crisis

Any deal will ultimately be worse than the actual problem itself. The federal gov't spends more money than it takes in. Perhaps it should spend less to fix this problem. However we have a situation where many are dependent on the gov't for everything and that is a bigger problem. Again, these problems can't be legislated to be solved, they have to be solved by a changing of society. We need to get a society that will take responsibility for their own actions, assist others when they truly need such. Quite frankly, I think the real solution is to give the fedral gov't of $ 1. Then that will teach them how to spend money properly. No more debt ceilings, no more stupidity....While you can certainly tax your way out of prosperity, there is absolutely no way to legislate school shootings out of existence. Maybe we ought to learn something from previous generations and their violent cartoons, what did they do that prevented things like this from happening?

d. The top 10 lessons (not in any order, that happen to be in order) from 2012

1) Being untrue to your identity does not help you

Granted the 2012 election was fixed from the beginning, but let's be honest, the reason Mittens wasn't voted for was because he's merely a symptom of the problem that has infected the GOP. No ability to communicate their message. As the old saying goes, better to have an honest liberal, than a false conservative. At least with the honest liberal, you know it's intentional. :D

2) Don't let the gov't make up the rules, then get mad when they change them on you.

While the USCCB is getting better as a collective whole, as a collective whole they still don't get it. We have to convert ourselves interiorly (the Liturgy (by being faithful to the rubrics, the Doctrine (teaching all of it, and faithfully living it out), and various other matters) before we can convert exteriorly. How about this before we talk HHS mandate, we stop funding organizations that are contrary to Church teaching? Deo gratias for the Pope's Motu Proprio. How about we be faithful to the Church's Liturgy by following the darn rubrics? Now is the time to return and be faithful...then and only then will the message resonate and the faithful will follow ;).

3) It's still hard, any way you slice it.

There were a few 10 year anniversary things that happened to me this year. It's been painful for me to recall loss and to recall all of the events that have happened. It seems so close and yet so far away. Time does not heal all wounds, it does however extend them.

4) You can fail and succeed

Just look at Congress and the White House

5) No man knows the hour...

Yet again someone else tried to predict the end of the world. What part of No man knows the hour does not make sense? I often joke for every day that man tries to predict the end of the world, it gets one day longer. At this rate the world isn't going to end ;)

6) Work in progress, you betcha.

I've had plenty of opportunities to be reminded that I have a far way to go. It's like one step forward, two steps back on steroids. I'm not kidding when I say pray for me :D

7) Jordan Pruitt is still amazing

I don't hide my obsession fandom of the lovely Jordan Pruitt. This year she went on The Voice, although she didn't win (she should have), I still think she's amazing...Am I doing unsolicited publicity for her? Yes, all 9 official readers and the unofficial ones....2013 certainly isn't going to change :D.

8) The Lakers...real life version of dumb and dumber.

I don't know which hire was dumber, Mike Brown, or Mike D'Antoni? Neither coach is able to utilize the talent that they had. If only they hadn't burnt that bridge with Phil ;)....Oh well, I'm kind of enjoying the fireworks....At least from a distance.

9) Prayers do go answered.

At the parish that I was confirmed at, they ended the pouring of the Precious Blood from the glass kool-aid pitcher. This has been about a 6 year prayer finally made manifest. It doesn't matter to me whether it was a dictate from the Archdiocese office of LA, or a parish decison, I'm glad it was made.

10) Expectation and reality are often 2 different things.

I had a scheduled publishing date of the 12/28, but I have been intensely busy with re-editing after reviews from the higher ups. That will be delayed :). A better time to perfect everything else I guess.

e. New Years' Bucket List (or so called resolutions)

1) To get to Russia without gov't interference.

2) To attend a Pontifical High Mass in the EF.

3) To encourage more priests to celebrate the EF

4) To encourage priests to be faithful to the rubrics of the Mass in the OF.

5) To visit at least 3 other countries in Eastern Europe.

6) To blog at least 500 posts this year.

7) To visit Australia

8) To sin much less this year.

9) To give at least 10 full physics/math lectures in Russian.

10) To convert more people to kneeling to receive Him in Holy Communion :).

f. I have been sick for the past few days. Please pray that I do feel better soon :). I was also supposed to visit California and say hey to my friends back in Ca; however, thanks to a blown tire this can't happen :(.

g. I wish all of you a blessed Epiphany with my favorite propers of the Church Liturgical year interestingly enough.

h. I am behind on about 6 blog posts. I will post them in due time. Please pray for me.

Pax Vobis