Abbey-Roads2

I’ll write about it! (Didn’t that sound so NYC?)

(Pictured, OL Sorrows, 9/11. I don’t really like the icon but I appreciate the sentiment, the devotion, the empathy, the sorrow that went into it.)

I am really very pleased that the entire nation is stopping to remember this tragedy. Do you realize fragments of bone and other human pieces are yet being found on rooftops in downtown Manhattan? I do not want people to forget. As Fr. Welzbacher pointed out in his homily today, it appears Osama bin Laden had a symbolic purpose in the date - which coincided with an earlier attack on Western Civilization in the siege of Vienna by the Turks. They were defeated in 1683 by John Sobieski on the following day, the 12th of September. (Hence the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, up until then a locus sancti feast day, was extended to the Universal Church in gratitude to Our Lady for the victory. It is one of the great victories attributed to Our Lady through the prayers of the Most Holy Rosary.) Yet bin Laden seems to have been sending the signal that the reconquest had begun once again on 9/11 - or was it Heaven’s warning that it had?

On that fateful day I was just ready to turn off “Good Morning America” on my way to work. Dianne Sawyer and Charlie Gibson broke in with footage of the first tower with smoke billowing out, saying a plane may have hit it. As I watched another plane flew into the second tower. I saw it live! I dropped to my knees, crossing myself, knowing immediately we were under attack. I wept and prayed. I drove to work, listening to the news, praying the chaplet, weeping. Everyone knows the rest.

There has been the 100 years war, 30 years war, many long wars in the history of the world. This war has been called the war on terrorism, a global war. It’s a world war. It’s going to last a long, long, long time. Unless Our Lady intercedes, as she did at Lepanto and Vienna. Militant Islam has a patience of biblical proportions - never underestimate the oriental intelligence. It’s so not over. We have not won any war yet.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Breaking up is hard to do…

Actually, I took a little hiatus from blogging on the eve of Our Lady’s birthday, until this Sunday afternoon. (No one missed me! Story of my life.) But I think I broke my obsession, and it only took 3 days.

I’ve been blogging since February on Rome-ing Catholics and I have not missed a day between the two blogs since - well maybe 1 or 2 - but that’s pretty good for an amatuer. Nor have I ever had any writers block, or should I say, any lack of something to say. Except I wasted an entire summer on the computer, I didn’t get the trim on my house painted, much less any creative painting done. To boot, I got carried away by all the controversies that daily pop up, those I would otherwise not care about or give a thought to. Instead, I acquired the habit of detraction and gossip - in writing - along with a whole bunch of other sins of thought, word, deed, and omission to confess. I realized in the past few days I didn’t miss writing so much. While I wondered what others do, those who write everyday - do they have a job?

I also wondered how the other blogs on my links fared, if I had missed anything critical in the past few days, so I took a trip around the blogosphere. Cafeteria is Closed remained open of course, with pretty much the standard fare, except new posts for Benedict’s visit to Bavaria, with excellent pics, as usual. Gerald’s reporting is the best in my book but I get tired of the pseudo nun/priest news that usually has some connection with Sr. Chistitterrerrer - or whatever her name is.

Our Word is doing silly news - which is always fun - interspersed with their high-brow opera stuff - always a good read - I like these people. Their cohort, Adoro Te Devote has been doing a novena to Pier Giorgio along with her always interesting personal stories - she’s going back to school! And today she has a post about heroes and 9/11.

I forgot to check out Rorate Coeli and Athanasius, mainly because I don’t want to think about the argument of traditional Catholic versus neo-Catholic. It gets me all riled up and confused. (I’m just a simple man - I went to St. Agnes today and kept my eyes closed - It helps for recollection and I just don’t want to see who is there. Coming back from Communion I had to keep my eyes open and could not avoid this woman, maybe 4 feet tall with long hair, her chapel veil pulled so far forward it almost covered her eyes. I started to laugh - see - I need my eyes closed! And, I apologize for this, but chapel veils just look dumb. Jackie Kennedy is the only person that could carry it off - sorry Imelda, as in Marcos.)

Just so, I have yet to visit co-worker’s Danielle or Shayne’s blog, because it’s cooler with my head in the sand - I’ll revisit them later however.

I’m sorry to say I haven’t checked out Stella Borealis (our local Cafeteria is Closed) either because there might be something about Fr. Altier from Desert Voice and I’m bored with all of that. (Although Stella has great news about what’s going on in area Churches - he does a better job than the Catholic Spirit - notice - no links to that.)

Who else? - ah - Rhapsody - the romantic. She discovered me and put me on the map. I think she’s away for the weekend - she devotes an awful lot of time to that family of hers, but she is always a delight to visit - her format is uplifting in itself.

The Daily Eudemon is my favorite, but I haven’t visited yet. I’d like Eric to be my best friend - he has a great sense of humor and writes pithy little observations about everything. And he seems to like his beer

There is a new monk on the block as well - Don Marco at Vultus Christi. An excellent liturgical/monastic blog.

Christus Vincit and Bonfire of the Vanities are my other two favorites. Brian because he is so funny and has LOL cat footage. I don’t want him to know this, but I hate most religious music - although I do like “Enigma” - but that is about as churchy as I get. Fr. Martin has wonderful posts, a good sense of humor - I mean, it’s good - not like my “puerile” type. (The first comment I received from him fooled me, I thought it was from Matthew Fox!)

Sorry, Dawn Eden, Amy, Domenico, Mr Shea - I don’t think I’m on your links and I must say I don’t check you out as much - although you have great posts - especially Open Book. Now Penitent Blogger I do check out daily - no links there either - he’s probably the soberest of all however - but wonderful insight, I believe he does lectio well. (Mark Shea’s loads so slowly I get too impatient to wait for it to open.)

I know I missed a few, but it doesn’t matter - they have their links. Nonetheless, I didn’t really miss anything; blogging, as life, is like a soap opera, you somehow always pick up where you left off.

I will be busy in the next few weeks, so blogging will not be as intense as it was before Our Lady’s birthday - I hope it is better however. [Did I ever mention I don't like to be contradicted? ]