Pope Francis Can't Fail

And not because he is infallible.  His mission is to discern God's will to the best of his ability and to lead souls closer to God.  Mission accomplished.  He is the best Jorge Mario Bergoglio that ever lived.

Today's New York Times ran an opinion piece titled "Has Pope Francis Failed?" by Matthew Schmitz of First Things.  

Apparently Mr. Schmitz is confusing the Pope with the organizer of a membership drive or a politician who has not made good on his campaign promises.  One wonders why he has written this now and why the Times has chosen to publish it.

OLV Honors Leonard Cohen on his 82nd Birthday

Suzanne has perished and in response the OLV Poet Laureate for the Year of Mercy and Forever said that he would be joining her soon enough.

On his 82nd birthday Leonard is gifting us with "You Want it Darker," the title cut of his forthcoming and possible last album.

To paraphrase the poet:

Because it is Leonard Cohen's birthday I will put my paper hat on my concussion and dance. 

For a thoughtful discussion and link to the work itself, visit  NPR.

In honor of Yma Sumac's 94 th Birthday

A gathering that could just as well taken place in the Our Lady of Vilnius church hall: Yma Dream by Thoma Meehan as narrated by Christine Baranskas.

Mercy Playlist: For Those Who Tilt at Cathedrals

Hit it, Linda!

Is "Defiance" the hallmark of Scituate?

Today's New York Times visits Scituate and delivers "After 12 Years of Defiance, a Massachusetts Congregation Goes in Peace" by Jess Bidgood.


These parishioners are the same beloved people that stand beside us in prayer all over the United States.  The article focuses on 12 years of defiance, but there are so many nouns to choose from: "love." "devotion," "community," "faith."

The article references a a statement from the Boston archdiocese quoting:

"In a statement, the archdiocese said it hoped the congregants would join other parishes. “Their sense of loss from the closing of the parish is understandable,” the statement said. “For this reason the archdiocese kept its commitment to allow the appeals process to conclude both in civil and canonical courts.”

While using the press op to advertise is goodness and good faith, the archdiocese expresses its hope that the "congregants" would join other parishes.  By not preserving the community and designating a receiving parish the diocese paved the way to collect the assets instead of dedicating them to the pastoral care of the intact community of faith.

Some intrepid journalist in the land of Spotlight, should cover this next outward ripple from the sex abuse scandal and follow the money.

Corpus Christi in Scituate: Mystical Body of Christ Suffers Pain of Loss

Today's Boston Globe published an article about the end of the 12 year vigil at the church of St. Frances X. Cabrini in Scituate, MA.  Titled "Parishioners say farewell to Scituate,"   The article describes the last service at the church after 12 years of constant community inside the building after the Archdiocese of Boston announced their decision to close the church.  On May 16 the parishioners reached the end of the legal road when the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear their case.

I posted the latest about the parishioners in vigil on the Feast of the Epiphany, 2009:  Parish Closures: An Epiphany.  The post contains links to a story in the New York Times and an ensuing post and discussion in the dotCommonweal blog.

The story of the last service in Scituate made it to the evening news in NYC on CBS.  Click on link below to view video:
After nearly 12 year fight, historic Catholic Church in Mass. closes

The CBS video addresses the real estate angle.  The Scituation bears watching to see the fate of the parish assets and the implication of schism.

Wallander: Epilogue or Epitaph

The Half-Finished Heaven

Despondency breaks off its course.
Anguish breaks off its course.
The vulture breaks off its flight.

The eager light streams out,
even the ghosts take a draught.

And our paintings see daylight,
our red beasts of the ice-age studios.

Everything begins to look around.
We walk in the sun in hundreds.

Each man is a half-open door
leading to a room for everyone.

The endless ground under us.

The water is shining among the trees.

The lake is a window into the earth.

From Tomas Tranströmer, New Collected Poems, translated by Robin Fulton (Bloodaxe Books, 1997/2011)
http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/

AD of NY: Stranger Than Fiction

Today's New York Post ran a ridiculous but tragic story titled, "Foul mouthed priest in hot water at Catholic high school".  The story features the aforementioned priest, some nasty expletives with asterisks in the middle of them, mutual accusations among the agonists and a dispute over motivation for pulling down a student's shorts.

Is the press making a mockery of our archdiocese?  Is our archdiocese making a mockery of itself?  Maybe the Holy Spirit is revving up for Pentecost.  Veni creator spiritus!

Hit it, girls...