On Retreat

Happy Monday, Church.

I'm sorry for "going dark" on you. Things here are so busy, what with all that I have to do.

I'll be away this week on retreat at my alma mater, Mount St. Mary's Seminary. Please pray for me.

-30-

SVILUPPO: I hope this made you feel as if Rocco himself was giving the news.

"Bring flowers of the fairest,

Bring flowers of the rarest..."

The Kingdom of Heaven: our "Best" or our "best offer"?

We're a culture of negotiators.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. If you like Rice Krispies, and one supermarket sells a box for $4.99 while another sells the same box for $3.99, you'll tend to buy it for the lesser price. You need to buy a new refrigerator, naturally you price hunt.

But it creeps up in other things. I accumulated $15,000 in debt on my credit card; How much do I really have to pay the company? The parish I belong to has a deadline of August 1 to submit registrations for religious education; when can I really turn it in? The speed limit on the Garden State Parkway is 65 m.p.h.; how fast can I drive without attracting the attention of the State Police? And, if I do get pulled over, what combination of cards, window stickers, and sweettalk will get the Trooper to NOT write the ticket? Sadly, we think we can negotiate with God. If I sing in the choir, can I be rude to my neighbor? If I donate food to the parish's social ministry, can I let my son/daughter share a hotel room with his/her prom date for the weekend? If the doctor tells me that there's a spot on my lung, do I expect the Just Judge to "dismiss it" if I promise not to smoke anymore?

In the Gospel today (still Matthew 5), Jesus begins to make his authority known (You have heard it said... But I say to you...) using the examples of murder and anger. Now you can't think of doing something, but not do it, and remain "righteous". Now, like the cloud mentioned in the first reading, you have to stop the storm when it's off in the distance.

The Lord set a tough standard for us to follow. It's gonna take work.

An homage to Father Z

In the life of a parish Priest (especially when you live alone), having the time to cook a meal is an almost unheard of treat. But, the other day, after reading another of Fr. Zuhlsdorf's culinary triumphs, I couldn't resist this:

On Sundays people should, if possible, get together for a nice meal. But after three Sunday Masses and a Corpus Christi procession, my desire for a meal is outweighed by my desire for things like a couch, The West Wing on DVD, and some air conditioning.

But still, I needed to eat, so I decided to whip up one of my favorite recipes: Un panino di burro arachidi con patate fritte e ciambelline di ciocolata which is a "Peanut butter sandwich with potato chips and chocolate donuts".

First, I undid the twist tie on some Pane Italiano.

... unscrew the lid on your peanut butter ...

... spread the peanut butter on the bread evenly ... Be sure not to let your bird feeders distract you!!! ...

To drink, I priced a fine Thé Freddo a Limone di Wawa, vintage 2010.

The finished product. Buon Appetito!

Red Mass(es)

Justin, Marcellinus & Peter, Charles Lawanga and the 11 companions, and Boniface. It's a week of wearing red as we celebrate martyrs.

The only other day of the week is Friday, a First Friday, which is usually a votive Mass for the Sacred Heart (where you'd think red would be the choice - a la Valentines Day - but you wear white). But then, next Friday, is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. I considered NOT celebrating the Sacred Heart today, to draw attention to next Friday's feast. Especially since next Friday's feast will mark the end of the Year for Priests.

In the meantime, hope you enjoyed the red.