Mary Help of Christians slated for Demolition?

A post by EV Grieve on Curbed NY, Counting Down to the End of Mary Help of Christians confirms the terse message from a parishioner that I received and blogged on May 16th of this year, Mary Help of Christians sold to developers???.

The parish of Mary Help of Christians was suppressed as a result of the archdiocesan "realignment" in 2007. Our Lady of Vilnius was suppressed at the same time, though mysteriously outside the "realignment" process.    Parishioners of  Our Lady of Vilnius, Mary Help of Christians and Our Lady Queen of Angels shared the pain of losing their parish and many members of their community.  We also shared the effort to stand up and voice our point of view to the blank wall of our archdiocesan hierarchy.

My heart goes out to the parishioners of Mary Help and all of those in the network of humanity that will feel and grieve this loss.  Let us pray.

Feast of the Assumption: One Year Anniversary of Jurgis Aleliunas Leaving Us

On the Feast of the Assumption we honor our friend, fellow parishioner and fellow Knight of Lithuania for his warmth, his faith and the example of his life.

A case for calling OLV country The Printing District

In today's New York Times opinion piece, Needles, Threads and New York History, Jean Appleton opposes the efforts of the local business improvement district to change the Garment District's name.  Ms. Appleton reviews the district's vital and colorful history concluding:

 "Doing so, however, would eviscerate the pulsating history of the place. It would pretend that the district was only ever about the final product, about the retail shops along Madison Avenue. Today “fashion” is the red carpet, Condé Nast, it is Schiaparelli and Prada at the Metropolitan Museum. The phrase “garment district,” by contrast, evolved from the blood and muscle of labor’s bodies.
Renaming the garment district would do more than offend our city’s history. It would dissociate this historic entity from its unique qualities and significance in the life of New York City. It would erase a vital part of New York’s past."

Likewise, I think that the nondescriptive and nondescript moniker "Hudson Square" eviscerates the pulsing history of OLV country, aka The Printing District.  The parish is closed, the church can be demolished and the footprints of the longshoremen and print shop workers who came to worship on Broome Street can be wiped away.  I am sorry that there are people who view this as improvement rather than loss.

Valio! Valio! Meilutyte wins gold in 100M breast stroke!

Read all about it in The Guardian! I'm definitely going to watch the medal ceremony on TV this evening, in fact I wish there were some Lithuanians in my neighborhood so that we could gather in our local tavern.  When the anthem is played I certainly will sing along.  I am not high tech enough to give you the  bouncing ball, but here are the lyrics:

Lietuva, Tėvyne mūsų,
Tu didvyrių žeme,
Iš praeities Tavo sūnūs
Te stiprybę semia.

Tegul Tavo vaikai eina
Vien takais dorybės,
Tegul dirba Tavo naudai
Ir žmonių gėrybei.

Tegu saulė Lietuvoj
Tamsumas prašalina,
Ir šviesa, ir tiesa
Mūs žingsnius telydi.

Tegul meilė Lietuvos
Dega mūsų širdyse,
Vardan tos, Lietuvos
Vienybė težydi!

English Translation:

Lithuania, my homeland, land of heroes!
Let your sons draw strength from the past.
Let your chidren follow only the path of virtue,
working for the good of their native land and for all mankind.

Let the sun banish all darkness from Lithuania,
with light and truth always guiding our steps.
Let the love of Lithuania burn in our hearts
And for the sake of our country, let unity blossom.

Thank you, Ruta and Ausros Vartu Marija for this wonderful achievement!

On NBC, Meilutyte rhymes with Kryptonite

And well it should.  Ruta Meilutyte plowed through the Olympic pool like a superwoman or aquatic Energizer Bunny in both the prelims and semi-finals of the Womens' 100 meter breast stroke.  She swims for the Gold today at 3:15 PM NYC time (8:15 PM London time) and it would be a real morale booster for all of us Lithuanians and Lithuanian/Americans in OLV country to see her atop the podium as the Lithuanian flag is raised and the anthem played.  Although I have been reproached for trying to get  Our Lady to influence athletic events in the past, I think that we should certainly place our hopes before Ausros Vartu Marija and ask for Her intercession.

Mary, is that you?

Recently trees in the metropolitan area have sprouted images of the Virgin Mary in the form of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  One, in West New York, NJ, appeared in the media limelight on Sunday. Another appeared yesterday in our very own archdiocese in a tree across from the shuttered Holy Cross Church in Sleepy Hollow.

A brief piece at archdiocesan-friendly MyFoxNY has spokesman Joseph Zwilling responding as follows:

"Joseph Zwilling, chief spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said this is not an official apparition. He added that people tend to see this image in various places but they are not endorsed by the church. But he concluded that people taking inspiration from these images is a good thing.

When asked about the closed Holy Cross Church across the street, Zwilling said the image would not cause the Archdiocese to take any action.

Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/19103211/virgin-mary-in-tree-in-sleepy-hollow#ixzz21ppPZVfe"

This brief statement includes the word "not" 3 times and the powerful poetry of the words "official" and "endorsed."    Interestingly enough, one of the "nots" referred to taking action regarding the the Holy Cross Church.  It would be interesting to see the full text of the question that occasioned the terse response.

When I am down and discouraged, I tend to see the faces of old friends in the middle distance on a crowed street or subway platform and my heart leaps.  As the person comes closer I see a stranger who bears a resemblance.  While I do not meet my friend, I am consoled the remembrance.  As the Feast of the Assumption nears I am happy that Our Lady is in the hearts and minds of so many people who hunger for her loving presence.

Attention all metro traffic reporters:  As you hover over the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, please take lots of video if the roofs of the waiting cars form a mosaic that looks something like this:

New York Times Publishes Good News of Catholicism

Sharon Otterman's piece in todays NY Times, In Graying Priesthood, New York’s Grayest Keeps Faith in Bronx, profiles Father Gerald Ryan, 92 year old Pastor of St. Luke's parish in the Bronx.

Though his title is officially "Administrator," as the article points out and the Archdiocese frowns on the use of the possessive (I say "the parish of St. Luke") I enjoy taking liberties.  Father Ryan embodies everything that is good about the Catholic Church.  Priests like him keep us going and vice versa.  Thank you, Sharon Otterman for this positive piece.

RIP Lonesome George

A giant Galapagos Pinta tortoise, Lonesome George, a.k.a. Jorge, was not Catholic and did not actually attend Our Lady of Vilnius.  Like Our Lady of Vilnius Parish he was the last of his kind.  On this basis, we happily welcome him to the fanciful paradise that is the Our Lady of Vilnius Virtual Basement Hall where he will silently scuttle past Dorothy Day and Jurgis Aleliunas will slip him a morsel of koldunai.  This earthly realm will be a bit sadder without him.

Correspondent leaving Fox to serve as media consultant to the Vatican

An item by Rachel Donadio in today's NY Times, Fox News Reporter Hired as Vatican Media Adviser, spreads the news that Fox's Rome correspondent Greg Burke has accepted a position as a media advisor for the Vatican.  Burke, who has covered the Vatican for Fox since 2001, is identified in the article as being a member of Opus Dei.  According to the article, Mr. Burke will  report directly to Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the third-ranking Vatican official.  deputy to Cardinal Bertone. He will also work closely with Archbishop Becciu’s deputy, American Monsignor Peter Wells.  In a quote, Mr. Burke likened his anticipated role to that of the Secretary of Communications in the White House: "It’s a very similar job. It’s a strategy job. It’s very simple to explain, not so easy to execute: to formulate the message and try to make sure everyone remains on message.”

It will be interesting to see what unfolds from this appointment.  Will the Dan Brown Vatican intrigue phenomenon deplored by Cardinal Bertone be quelled by appointing a member of Opus Dei to do the job?  Will the Cardinals be rendered more lovable, like Nanni Moretti's volleyball-playing prelates in Habemus Papam?    Maybe foam fingers will soon be sported in Rome, too.