He told them that Follieri duped him out of $110,000 left to him by his parents. He say the Italian businessman claimed he needed the money to pay nuns.

Hodge met Follieri in 2005, when he was looking into church properties in Atlantic City, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. The two became close and took three trips to Rome together. Hodge said Follieri bilked him out of $120,000 for plane tickets and other bogus expenses.

Barbera was joined Friday by a host of supportive family members and friends. Some spoke on his behalf, including Formica's Bakery owner Harry Formica and Barbera's pastor, Monsignor William Hodge.

Read it here

(One person commented, "A church is real estate. Your faith is in your heart." I thought that was interesting.since that's what the bishop wants us to believe. I was raised to believe that a church was a holy House of God where the Real Presence of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ resided. Hmmm. Guess I was taught wrong?)

...and now we're hearing it again.

I am currently reading a 1993 article about one Fr. Grubb. Fr. Grubb was on the forefront of the hippie masses and went just about as far as one could go with this back in the 60s and 70s, even going so far as to bake pot brownies, sew burlap vestments with flowers and peace symbols on them, and invite raucous rock bands to play during "Mass," among other things. In any case, Fr. Grubb long ago repented, realizing his many errors, and became a traditional and orthodox priest. He even began saying the traditional Latin mass in the 1980s.

See if you find some of his sentiments, circa 1969, familiar:

• As people change, the Church and the Mass must change with them.

• The traditional Mass for most people--especially the young--is dull. All over the country, churches are finding that the young people just are not coming to their services. We had to find a way to make Mass a happy, relevant experience for them.

Interestingly, Fr. Grubb noticed that

"no matter what novelty was introduced," attendance at mass dropped. "He began to see that what the people were expecting, and what he had been providing, was not spiritual nourishment, not closeness to God--or even one another--but entertainment.

He also began to notice that his congregation was drifting not just out of his Mass, but out of the Church. Young people especially, who made up most of his following, were abandoning the Faith in droves, preferring the easier religion of drugs and sex. Most, he believes, never returned: "They married outside of the Church, I'm sure"--if they bothered to marry at all. He even began to doubt what sort of converts he had made, which at one point had been many. "I'm not sure what they were converted to," he says today. "I rather think they were converted to me."

The hippie masses may be over, for the most part, in this country. But their ghosts remain, as do advocates of the radical reforms they represented. Now what we face is the closure of our churches, the building of "churches of the future," and the introduction of all kinds of novelties from cappuccino bars to trendy and irreverent christo-pop to labyrinth-walking to the promotion of cremation instead of burial. The point is that what is at stake here is not even the closure of churches and the opening of new ones, but the closure of churches and the replacement of said churches with something altogether different. Like Fr. Grubb, Bishop Galante and Company ought to be asking themselves, "What kind of converts will we make with all these novelties? What, in the end, is the point of all this?" Fr. Grubb's answer was, "To lead them [the people] to God." This is not only the role of a good shepherd, but of the physical church, the Sacred Mass, and Holy Mother Church herself.

But many of us grew up in churches where many of the means of being led to God--those sure, tried-and-true ways passed down through the centuries--were altogether absent. Even in the church I grew up in, which was built after I was baptized (in the late 70s), there were almost no statues and I'd never even heard of benediction, Eucharistic adoration, communion rails, most traditional Catholic hymns, Gregorian chant, a "morning offering," the Angelus, votive candles, an "examination of conscience," or any myriad number of other things. I don't remember being taught how to say the rosary, for that matter. My home parish was far from radical in the vast scheme of things, and my mother, though a product of her generation, was certainly a devout Catholic. These many rich means of growing closer to Our Lord--mostly traditional Catholic sacramentals--were effectively deprived the people in my parish, and particularly those in my generation--because they were seen as unnecessary and perhaps even embarrassing. One of the things we did have in my parish, and to the best of my knowledge it still exists, was a "guitar group" and quite a few "Eucharistic Ministers." Don't get me wrong, I have many fond memories of my home parish and certainly of our good and true pastor, but even our seemingly staid parish had its novelties.

Well, I took the long way around just to say that it happened before and it will happen again. Many look in vain for "novelty," and sometimes for all the best intentions. But truly there is nothing new under the sun. The only thing that will truly gain people's attention and keep it is God Himself.

From article, "The Prodigal Priest," by Jeffrey Rubin in Latin Mass Magazine Special Edition, 1993.

Our pastor sure doesn't mince words. In this latest piece from Father, he calls it as he sees it! At St. Mary's we don't pussy-foot around when it comes to things eternal and risk posed to our immortal souls.

We've long known about the lay leadership program that Bishop Galante has been planning for the Diocese of Camden. In this brief article, we read about the signing ceremony with the College of St. Elizabeth. In the past, Galante has cited an alleged priest shortage as a rationale for the need for lay "ministers, but he continues to send priests away for "training," as military chaplains, and has even forced retirements and sent priests he disliked  to treatment centers or to different dioceses. Usually the priests who are sent away are of the most orthodox ones in the Camden Diocese. This hardly seems accidental. Of course Galante also says that church attendance is down, and that we need to consolidate (close) our churches, but with fewer churches, wouldn't it follow that fewer priests would be needed? The real agenda here is instituting a liberal lay leadership program and pushing for married and, probably, for female priests.

We have long known of two lay men who want to be diocesan priests here--both of whom Rome recently rejected, presumably because they are married--who are still taking seminary classes down at Baltimore's "pink palace," St. Mary's. Not only this, but to the best of our knowledge, both are living in housing paid for by the Diocese of Camden, and one is currently employed by the Diocese. The latter individual I spoke with myself a couple months ago, and he informed me that Bishop Galante asked him if he was interested in being a priest within minutes of meeting him, full aware of his age (he appeared to be in his late 50s), evangelical protestant religious background, poor health, and marital status. If Rome has told these men "no," then why are they still training for the priesthood and, last we heard, still living in diocesan housing? Your guess is a good as mine.

We couldn't make this stuff up. ICHANGE is the web-based "tool"/program that the bishop/Diocese is using to select the "core teams." This comes straight from their website, www.i-change.biz. This information was sent in by an outraged contributor, who comments, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????????????????" After all, if the Diocese of Camden is going to be run like any other non-religious, corporate business, it ought to be taxed and its leaders held similarly accountable. Again, how does God fit into this picture? Clearly nowhere.


A very valid and important question!

The link to a Catholic Star Herald  article on "core teams" (uhhh...could we possibly get any more corporate???) was submitted to savestmarys by a reader, who made the following comment:

Notice the criteria for people being picked to be on the Core Team. They want people who are willing to follow the program and be willing to lose their parishes. No dissent allowed. This is very sad.

Quote from the article:

Core Team members will be selected from a pool of nominated parishioners. This month, each current pastor of the parishes that will be merged will nominate six lay persons from his parish who meet key leadership criteria.  

This month, all Core Team nominees are asked to take a web-based assessment tool (ICHANGE) to determine their attitude toward change.  The nominees will forward the results of the assessment to their pastor.

The Priest Convener and the current pastors will meet by Oct. 1 to review the nominees, their leadership and experience, their capacity for assuming the responsibilities, their attitude toward change, and their receptivity to the work ahead (see side bar).

Ooooh, wow. Just gives you chills reading about it, huh? Can you just feel the Holy Ghost at work here? YIKES! Are these "nominee" people applying for a job? Must they also submit a resume? Why in the world would anyone do this? And where does it say in the article that interested participants ought to pray about this?

It just makes you wonder how much further Vollmer, Galante, and Company could get from Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Do they pray? How in the world could they possibly think that an ungodly "web-based assessment tool (ICHANGE)" could involve the promptings of Our Lord in this "process." They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Let's pray for them daily. Pray for their conversion to the Holy Catholic Faith. They will be responsible for the souls they take down along the way, and the ones who stay away from the True Church because of their actions. And faithful Catholics, please don't be afraid to speak out about something you know to be wrong. Call a spade a spade.

Hmmm...the only thing that St. Mary's lacks in "vibrancy" is frothy mochaccinos. Oh well, our loss. There's a Wawa down the street.

• The Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima is available for devotion in the home. Call the rectory or sign up in the back of the church.

• Father kindly thanks everyone for the lovely cards and gifts he received for his birthday. (Incidentally, the party was a lot of fun and we hope to get some pictures up soon!)

• A new Praesidium of the Legion of Mary will be on Sat. Oct. 4th at 10:00am.

• Donations to the food pantry are requested.

• Movie night, which is every 4th Saturday, will be Sat. Sept. 27th following the 5:00pm mass. The movie Miracle of St. Therese will be shown. All ages are welcome, and refreshments will be available.

• Family Game Night, which is every 1st Friday to coincide with First Friday devotions, will be on Fri. Oct. 3rd. There will be a potluck dinner from 5:00-5:30. Bring a game to share from 5:30-6:30. After that, there will be Rosary in the church beginning at 6:30, Sacred Heart Devotions and Benediction at 7:00, and Holy Mass at 7:30.

• Junior Legion of Mary will meet in the Shrine Room on Thursday from 4-5:00pm. Draw closer to Jesus and Mary through the Holy Rosary, Legion prayers, and our holy pastor's instruction. Bring Jesus and Mary to others through your prayers and service.

• Junior choir will practice on Tuesday from 6:30-7:30pm. Sing at various masses and Christmas concerts, as well as at local nursing homes.

• A Camden Diocese sponsored Marian pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception will be on Saturday Oct. 11. Call 856-845-8575 if you're interested.

• CCD will begin October 5th. Don't forget to register if you haven't done so already!

• CCD teachers and aids: There will be a meeting in the Shrine room on Sept. 28th after the 8:30am mass.

• A Harvest Dance with Jerry Blavet will be hosted by Queen of Angels parish and held at Notre Dame Regional School (601 Central Ave., Landisville) on Sat. Nov. 22nd from 7:00pm until midnight. Doors open 6:30. $25 admission includes buffet, dessert, coffee, soda, etc. (BYOB) Tickets on sale now. Call 856-697-1450 to buy a ticket. There is limited seating, but tables of ten can be reserved, so buy your tickets now.

Undoubtedly some things have been left out, so please don't hesitate to contact savestmarys with your news/event information.

Christ Condemns Compromise With Evil
The teaching of the Catholic Church is clear: we cannot compromise with the devil. The devil has forces that surround us. The celebrations that we have in the Church every day are necessary to defeat the devil.

The lie is an important part of the devil's tactics. You will be equal to God, Satan tempted Eve. Eve should have believed God, but she showed that free will is part of man's characteristic personality and she gave in to the temptation.

It's easy enough to show the opposite reaction in the threefold temptation of Our Lord in the desert. Jesus rejected pleasure, power, and fame in order to demonstrate the true happiness of unity with God. It is this faith of ours that keeps us alive in the Lord.

The Devil Deceives
During the present persecution of the Church in Camden, we have seen how the forces of evil (Satan) can entice the majority into complacency. The life of grace, which is divine life, shows through the false promises of the devil. We must be totally Committed to Our Lord through His Holy Mother. Our devotional life leads us to the love of God and therefore we give Him the honor that He deserves. Any other method of approaching God is wrong.

Our Lord & His Church are Truth
The Catholic Church has the answer to life's problems in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which shows that God chooses certain men to lead a parish in the way of Truth. Truth is the only way to live because it is the way of Jesus, Our Lord, who brings us into Heaven. Sacrificing the pleasures of this life is the way we appreciate the love of God and enjoy this presence. "Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light," Saint Matthew 11:29-30.

Sunday we celebrated the Triumph of the True Cross, Monday the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Every day we take up our cross and find rest and peace in the cross, the Way of Salvation. That salvation is NOW--our oneness, unity with the Lord in Truth enables us to transform the face of the earth. We are chosen by the Lord to do this. Saint Paul emphasizes that there are those who are called, and that the Lord justifies and glorifies.

Sent to savestmary's from J:

In sad news, the Diocese goes to settlement on St. Bridget's School in Glassboro on Thursday. (That happened awfully quickly, didn't it?!)

From Kate, submitted today:
We, the parents at St. Bridget's, have for a long time wanted to expand to have a multipurpose room where students could gather for gym, lunch, and other activities. We explored several options and due to the very limited space on our property, could not expand.
 
Although a painful experience, the decision to recommend merging with St. Catherine's presented the opportunity to have a larger school campus in a neighborhood where police are not conducting drug raids two doors down from the school on Lake St and netting an AK47 and ammunition for their troubles. (See Glassboro crime log from Summer 2007)
 
The school is right smack in the middle of the Rowan Blvd/ Glassboro Redevelopment project. (Google Rowan Blvd) Not only is the construction itself an ugly, unsafe mess, but having a hotel or strip of stores and college apartments next to our school probably wasn't the best thing for our kids either.
 
Fr. Mazz made us a promise that if we moved to another location he would use the profits from the sale of the school building for two things: to pay off St Bridget's parish debt (which he had worked to lower since coming to St B's) and to give the balance of the money to the 'new' school (now called St Michael the Archangel) for classroom space and improvements to the property. Hopefully we didn't "miss the boat" on the sale of the property. If we had sold last summer before the housing bust, we would have gotten a cool $2.5 million easily due to the greedy developers who want in on the Glassboro redevelopment.
 
Again, although painful to leave St Bridget's, the school merger has been good for both school communities. St Catherine's got enough students to keep their school open. St Bridget's got a gymnasium and hot lunch program. Through the excellent leadership of Ms Jan Bruni and Sr Janice Novak a strong St Michael's family is developing, we now have a middle school electives program we didn't have before. And being double-graded brings other social and psycholohical benefits to students who otherwise would have spents 9 years of their education with only the same 15 - 30 people, thereby limiting their experiences during the bulk of their waking hours each school year.
 
I still hum our school song- St Bridget watch and guide us, bring your wisdom here. St Michael protect and defend us. (He already is- we will keep our church, our convener is already the pastor.)


Response:
Indeed the area nearby Rowan is a complete mess. We certainly hope that the new school is everything it should be, and that the money indeed goes where it is supposed to. We've requested that any follow-up information be sent to us, along with photos and updates. We welcome information from throughout the diocese on any school or parish changes, closures, "reconfigurations," etc.


A Total Aside...
In somewhat related news, I was listening to an NPR piece today about Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. who have given up altogether and decided to "go public" as "charter schools." It was sad to hear how, in the piece, they were taking down crucifixes, images of saints, and an altar at St. Cyprian's School. I will see if I can find that piece for you online, perhaps tomorrow, since it's very late right now. It was on All Things Considered this afternoon, if you'd like to look for yourself and listen online.

The diocesan argument was, of course, a financial one for all the schools making the switch, but being in the midst of a similar situation that involves nothing but one lie after the next, it's hard to know what's really going on down there in D.C. and what was really in their books. Sadly, you just can't take anything at face value. If it really was that financially dire, how'd it get that way?

Anyway, the archdiocese reported that it costs them something like $7500 per student and that the diocese can only realistically charge parents, on average, around $4500, therefore subsidizing $3000 per pupil. However, I personally find it appalling that other alternatives were not explored before closing these schools altogether. I find it really difficult to believe that parents in one of the most financially strained states in the country, Michigan, can successfully open and maintain their own Catholic Catholic school that is reasonably priced and cooperatively run, and yet diocese with all the bureaucratic advantages--bequests, staff, consultants, grants, etc.--cannot figure it out.

On the other hand, I am well aware that many Catholic schools are Catholic in name only. My own high school I did not find to be overly "Catholic" even at the time, and I was coming right out of nine years of public school so you'd think there would've been some amount of culture shock. The only real culture shock I recall was lack of resources. That was 18 years ago, too. I wonder, though, if diocese shouldn't be looking to different types of radical change, like how to get back to the roots of the true essentials in Catholic education, and perhaps shifting to a cooperative model, if possible? I'm sure that there are all kinds of options out there if one prays enough and thinks creatively. But who knows.

In any case, I took the long way around to say that the closing of any Catholic school for any reason is pretty sad news since we know that the alternative for most kids is public school, which is not to say there isn't something to be said about that. I happened to love public school when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago and things have changed over the past 20+ years, and not all for the better. Ideally, as Catholics, we ought to want our kids' educations to be utterly penetrated with the things of God and the teachings of Holy Mother Church. Sometimes we homeschoolers are able to do this, but it costs quite a lot for a parent to forsake career in order to school her children in an age when two incomes is practically a necessity. At one time in America's not-so-distant past, Catholic schools did this and were affordable for normal families. How sad that our Catholic school standards have shifted to such a degree that even Catholic school education is all too often, well, far from it, and ridiculously priced too.

Our thanks is due to all the good teachers who ever taught at St. Bridget's Glassboro and at all schools everywhere. We owe them a lot, don't we? Lord knows, they don't do it for the money or the fame. (Now my sis and I are both teachers. So was our mom and our mom's mom, both of whom went to Glassboro State College/Glassboro Normal School.)


Another Total Aside, But That Never Stopped Me Before...
A long overdue thanks to some of my teachers, the people responsible for feeding my love of learning and perhaps partly responsible for my insanity (just kidding). I encourage you to look up your former teachers and thank them, if possible.

• Fr. Lyons, who I saw last week, English, Journalism, Mythology, 10th & 11th
  
• Mr. Galliger, English, 9th
  
• Mr. Day, History, 7th
  
• Mr. Phillips, 3rd Grade
• Mr. Rogers, Gym, Cross Country, Track, Gymnastics, & How to be a Good & Decent Human, 4th-8th and beyond
  
• Mrs. Benevento, Sprint, 4th-8th & summer
  
• Mr. Harrison, 5th Grade
• Mrs. Foster, Sprint, 3rd Grade
  
• Mrs. McGarrity, 2nd Grade
• Miss Hansen, 4th Grade, may she rest in peace
• Wacky Mr. Finnerty, Science (and of course, county politics...), the only person I've ever known to drink Drano regularly and also don an ugly green tux just to keep us interested, 6th & 8th
  
• Mrs. Schaffer, Home Ec, simply the best, 6th-8th
  
• Sr. Regina, Religion, "Stay close to Jesus," may she rest in peace, 10th
  
• Mrs. West & Mrs. Gilchrist, Art (K-3, 4-8 & summer)
  
• Miss Berrell/Mrs. Stein, Music (K-3 & 4-8)
  
• Mr. Lewis, my gymnastics coach
• Sr. Rita Francis, CCD & Bible School (VBS), K-8
  
• Mr. Leek, Shop, 6th-8th
  
• The famous "Deborah J," English, who definitely kept me entertained, 12th
• Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Kingsley, & Mrs. Bingham, Nursery School
• My grandmother, Laura P. DeMarchi, and grandfather, Jacob DeMarchi, may they rest in peace
  
• And of course my mommy, Doris, my #1 teacher, may she rest in peace. I owe you everything.
  

This was sent to savestmarys by a contributor, Frank:

I thank God that I live in a day when the enemy is outside the Church, and I know where he is and what he is up to. But, I foresee a day when the enemy will be both outside and inside the Church...and I pray now for the poor faithful who will be caught in the crossfire.  -Cardinal John Henry Newman

Article link sent in by a contributor:

"Pope Benedict XVI condemned unbridled 'pagan' passion for power, 
possessions and money as a modern-day plague Saturday as he led more 
than a quarter of a million Catholics in an outdoor Mass in Paris."

Click here to read entire article.

Kathy says,

It is sad because Bishop Galante has totally missed the boat with our diocese. Instead of closing churches and parishes, he should have used the deanery meanings as opportunities to get to know each other and pull their resources together to provide beneficial services. For example, I think my parish, St. Francis de Sales, could benefit by having a youth minister. Two or three neighboring parishes could fund the salary of one youth minister and share his or her services. The parishes would still retain their identities and their assets.

Of course, the Bishop's actions prove that he is not interested in improving parishes; he just want to close them, sell them, and make money.

On my way to the rally the other day I popped on the radio. I admit I'm a religion nerd, and American denominational issues and religious trends are of a particular interest to me. I have no idea why. In any case, that is just to say that I put on the protestant radio station that is generally affiliated with Calvary Chapel, a denomination with whom my workplace shares a parking lot. In any case, this man David Jeremiah, the pastor of a megachurch in Southern California called Shadow Mountain Community Church, was on. The show was called, "Turning Point." Normally I would have changed the station right away because eight times out of ten, I'm not interested in what's on that station. But this time what he was talking about caught my ear.


Mr. (Dr.) Jeremiah posed the following question (I paraphrase): "Why do people in a stadium of 60,000 not feel lonely, but in a church (with far fewer people), they feel isolated and out-of-place?" The "profound" answer he came to (Mr. Jeremiah's sarcasm, not mine) was "tailgate parties." He said (paraphrasing again), "When do you ever see a single individual going into a game? Not too often. Usually you see people going in groups of 2, 3, 5 or more."

His point was twofold:
 
1. People often like to be among be crowds and large events because it makes them feel as if they're part of something important. In that big building, there's something important going on, and by virtue of my attendance and participation there, that makes me important too.

2. The "tailgate party" is just as important as the game. A tailgate party is made up of a smaller group of people and affords an opportunity to bond and have fun together. It's a place where "everybody knows your name." (As I recall, he used this phrase.)



So far as I can tell, this David Jeremiah is a pretty smart guy. A little too smart, actually. His reasoning is flawless...when it comes to a marketing rationale and apology for his self-described megachurch.** But there was really no religious content at all, other than that God designed us to be known and to have our voices recognized. Now doesn't that feel good?



Needless to say, everything about this approach to religion was "me-centered" and had more to do with social and personal psychology and emotionalism than with God and the nature of the Church. Big  events make me feel good because I feel as if I'm witnessing something important. Then, so I have an interpersonally sense of fulfilled I participate in a small group at my church. Certainly we do not have to go all the way to southern California to see examples of this model of church. It seems to me that our own bishop is promoting it, as a matter of fact. Gloucester County Community Church in Wahington Township,  St. John the Evangelist in Naples (FL), and St. Joseph in Richardson (TX) all have significant aspects of this model in common, and all have been recommended by Bishop Galante.*

I do not mean to be overly dismissive here. I'm not saying that one cannot actually have positive experiences in, well, in just about any Christian religious context. God can get to us even when there's the slightest crack in the door because He is God, He made us, He knows us, and He want us to love Him as much as He loves us. Certainly we can experience God's presence and learn about God outside of the Catholic Church--it's just that other Christian communities fall short of the whole Truth.

The problem with this particular church model is that religion is not about feelings and worship isn't about what "we" get out of it. Religion is, ultimately, about God and worship is about how we can best give glory to God in a manner befitting His Majesty. He is the King of the universe and should be the King of our hearts, and anything that falls short of what he deserves cheapens the gift. You don't come to a birthday party and hand somebody a gift still in the plastic bag. (Well, actually, that's happened to me before, and that's ok!) Yes, it's the thought that counts and just the act of showing up or bringing a gift is important and there is something to be said for that. But when it comes to the Creator and Sustainer of all things, I hope to bring him a gift that not only is nice underneath all the wrappings, but also looks nice, too. Why? Because He's God. He made us, and seeing even our tiniest little efforts to love and glorify Him, allows His love to grow in us. "You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love at which we do them." (St. Therese of the Child Jesus)

So after listening to the "Turning Point" broadcast I actually felt sorry for the protestant megachurchers because as a Catholic, I know that it really has nothing to do with how many people are in attendance, even though of course it would be nice if the whole world believed in Christ and the Truths contained in His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Christ himself said that "where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of you."* We do not need to be among huge crowds of people in an immense structure with jumbotrons, a band, great lighting and sound systems, and all the other drama that accompanies christian "edutainment."

We read in Matthew 26:26, John 6:51-72, and elsewhere He gave us Himself in the Holy Eucharist, so no matter how many are present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, he is still there. Yes, we are a part of something very important when we assist at Mass, but the Mass is still the Mass and God is still God whether there are two or 2,000. We, like the Apostles, are to be fishers of men, and certainly we need to evangelize. But we must never lose sight of the fact that even if there were no one at all in the church during Mass, God still--literally--offers Himself to us. I've heard a particular priest say a couple of times that if on the holy altar of God Christ actually appeared to us in his full splendor and majesty, as He appears in Heaven among the throngs of angels and saints, we would fall down on our faces and drag ourselves up the aisle. I could not agree more. Truly something important is going on in a Catholic church no matter how many happen to be there.

So let them have their "tailgate parties" at the church called "Shadow Mountain" and others like it. The churches so many of us are blessed to attend here in South Jersey may be small, but in them the King of the Universe is enthroned. It is our privilege to be in His midst. (In fact, "level of energy" is like Christmas every day...only not in a mall. Like in a church.)

The biggest problem is that in our contemporary society, people place demands on their churches as if the church should conform to their lifestyle (book a Caribbean cruise with David Jeremiah here). But we know that this is not what Christ expects of us. He asks each of us to be willing to forsake our families and everything we have to follow Him. That's a tall order. He wants us to offer our sufferings in union with His on the cross. We are to conform ourselves to the cross of Christ. Carmelites have a cross with no corpus because they are expected to place themselves upon it in their daily sacrifices.

I thank You, O my God! For all the graces You have granted me, especially the grace of making me pass through the crucible of suffering. It is with joy I shall contemplate You on the Last Day carrying the scepter of Your Cross. Since You deigned to give me a share in this very precious Cross, I hope in heaven to resemble You and to see shining in my glorified body the sacred stigmata of Your Passion. (St. Therese of the Child Jesus, 19th century
Carmelite nun and saint)

Needless to say, we ought not to go to church expecting entertainment, expecting to be comfortable. It is so sad that some become impatient when the sermon runs a little long or the Mass goes over 45 minutes, and after holy communion make a mad dash for the exit before the priest--who represents Christ himself--processes. The traditional Mass--the dignified and holy worship of God--has been called the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven. So I for one would not feel comfortable attending a church in which one could expect the Rockettes to emerge, legs kicking wildly, from stage right.

Coverage of our well-attended rally on Wednesday afternoon. (In the picture version my son and I were on the front...yikes! It just figures I was low on clothes that day and grabbed the first clean thing I could find.) The rally was held at Holy Family in Sewell, NJ, in response to the "handing out" of the merger manual, something we understand may not be complete at this time.

To read ,click here.

In response to the following quote,

When people come here, there's a level of energy. It's like walking into a mall at Christmas. -Msgr. Fischer from St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Richardson, TX

someone said to me the other day,

Wouldn't it be great if the level of energy experienced at that church be like walking into a church at Christmas???

Real estate con man Raffaello Follieri pleaded guilty earlier today to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. Details of his $2 million dollar swindle are starting to come out. One of the more interesting was a letter  FBI investigators found in Follieri's possesion. From the US Attorney General office press release (PDF):

[I]in March 2006, the Secretary of State of the Vatican warned FOLLIERI in writing that FOLLIERI should stop representing that FOLLIERI and his company had ties to the Vatican. FOLLIERI, however, did not stop; even after being warned by the then-Secretary of State of the Vatican to cease and desist making any claims of ties to the Vatican, FOLLIERI told investors and others that he was handling the Vatican's financial affairs Chief Financial Officer of the Vatican.

A YEAR BEFORE GALANTE DEAL

For those following the Follieri/Galante timeline, this is a full year before Bishop Joseph Galante sold his personal beach house to Follieri for $400,000 and began a plan to sell off half of properties in the diocese.

Diocesan spokesperson Andrew Walton has repeatedly told reporters that their introduction to Follieri came from a 2004 phone call from the Vatican but has never been able to answer questions as to who called or what Vatican office they represented. Now we know that the second most powerful man in the Catholic Church had disavowed the Folleri connection.

DIOCESAN EMPLOYEES PART OF THE SWINDLE

The Department of Justice also says that of the techniques that Follieri used to convince investors that he could buy church properties below market value was through "meetings with clergy; and travels with monsignors." We know from previous reports that at lease one of these traveling companions was Monsignor William Hodge of Atlantic City who reportedly travelled with Follieri on Diocesan time.

More to come soon we suspect.

Today at a rally outside Holy Family Catholic Church in Sewell, NJ--in which the unholy "merger manual" was handed out and dozens of priests filed inside--a priest barked out to some of us protesters, "To live is to change. To be perfect is to change often." I responded, "Oh, did Christ say that, Father?" To which he responded, "Yes, actually. It was Cardinal Newman." I laughed audibly because I am all too familiar with the decontextualized, stock phrases whipped out of the back pocket of liberals. They like to quote well-regarded saints, etc. to justify their actions. Of course, the devil himself can quote Scripture for his purposes, as we all know. Since I must be running off to work in a few minutes I do not have long to research this phrase, but I did find this, also from Cardinal Newman. You may read the entire section here, but I will share with you one of the most relevant sections for our purposes:

For thirty, forty, fifty years I have resisted to the best of my powers the spirit of Liberalism in religion. Never did Holy Church need champions against it more sorely than now, when, alas! it is an error overspreading, as a snare, the whole earth; and on this great occasion, when it is natural for one who is in my place to look out upon the world, and upon Holy Church as in it, and upon her future, it will not, I hope, be considered out of place, if I renew the protest against it which I have made so often.

Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another, and this is the teaching which is gaining substance and force daily. It is inconsistent with any recognition of any religion, as true. It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy.

Honestly, does this sound like the kind of may who would advocate the type of liberal and superficial changes that Bishop Galante would implement? Does Cardinal Newman seem like the type of man who would advocate we change, change, change for the sake of change? Surely not. I will continue to research the "change" phrase, but I do find it odd that in fifteen minutes I cannot find it in context or with a date. The only thing I see, by and large, are liberal using this quote and attaching it to Cardinal Newman, which is of course a red flag. More on this to come.

Update 9/11/08: I again looked online for the quote and came up empty. I can find no definitive attribution to Cardinal Newman. I checked CCEL (Christian Classics Ethereal Library, for those of you unfamiliar) and elsewhere. Google gives me only a handful of references to the quote, and none of them are reliable or contextualized sources. Hmmm. I wonder if anyone said this, or if he said something like this once. I'm stumped.

ABC News is reporting that Raffaello Follieri has agreed to plead guilty to charges of money laundering and wire fraud.

Officials say claiming close ties to the Vatican, he convinced the unsuspecting investors that he could give them first dibs on flipping Catholic Church properties. He reportedly stole up to $6 million from his investment firm and blew it on a lavish lifestyle that included apartments, vacations, clothes and gifts for Hathaway.

Earlier today the Wall Street Journal indicated that the federal investigation centered on stolen money Follieri paid church officials to convince investors that he could buy up church properties at below-market rates. The Journal specifically mentioned officials in the Vatican, but of course the highest Follieri payout publicly known right now is the $400,000 Follieri paid Bishop Joseph Galante for an unremarkable personal beach house. Galante himself is the architect of the largest church sell-off plan in American history and priests in his employed worked closely with Follieri. It seems like a good time for the Bishop to address the Vaticon scandal and take whatever actions are best for the Diocese.

Looks like Follieri's taking a plea,although there's still a chance he'd opt for a trial, according to the Wall Street Journal article linked to here. Quote:

Mr. Follieri was charged in June with paying for a lavish lifestyle with money from a real-estate venture with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. The venture was supposed to capitalize on Mr. Follieri's Vatican ties to redevelop surplus Catholic Church properties. Currently in custody in New York in lieu of a $21 million bail, he could face roughly four to five years in prison under the proposed plea agreement, says a person familiar with the matter.

And towards the bottom, regarding payoffs:

Mr. Follieri's Vatican ties also allegedly involved money. The federal criminal complaint says between 2005 and 2006, Mr. Follieri sent more than $385,000 of allegedly stolen funds to unnamed Vatican recipients "in order to increase his ties" there.

Guess we'll have to just wait and see how all this plays out.

I admit I think my husband's commentary on my commentary is a lot funnier than my commentary. Plus you get Fr. Ted, but of course "that would be an ecumenical matter." I guess the easily offended should skip the Fr. Ted, but I admit it's one of my favorite TV shows, especially since I lived in Ireland briefly when the show was at the height of its popularity. (Yes I have a "low" sense of humor. What's pink and fluffy? Pink fluff.)

Over at savestmarys, we do not enjoy having to deal with news pieces like this one, but really they make our job easier. This article profiles St. Joseph's "Catholic" McMegaChurch in Richardson, Texas, a church the bishop would like to replicate here in South Jersey.

About 1,500 miles away, officials at the Diocese of Camden want to promote this type of vibrant parish. As part of a planned diocesan makeover...

Here it is in black and white, guys. This is what we're in store for. A "makeover." Yippee! We, too can look just like that cool Church of the Future down in Texas. Wait'll you see what's in store for us lucky Catholics. New buildings with new ideas and new priorities...

 Ironically, in an effort to assuage the fears of Mr. and Miss Average Catholic In the Pews, the Courier Post has done a really good job of confirming that our worst fears about what Bishop Galante and Friends have up their sleeves are true. The prospect that Bishop Galante would want to replicate mega"churches" with labyrinths and cappuccino bars here in South Jersey is a repulsive thought. Why in the world he believes that by instituting flaky, liberal "spirit-trends," souls will be saved is beyond me. Promoting the culture of the world at a supposedly Catholic church and reveling in what one can only imagine constitutes a frequent lack of reverence is simply appalling. Yet the pastor at St. Joe's, Msgr. Fischer,  says,

When people come here, there's a level of energy. It's like walking into a mall at Christmas.

Huh? Is that supposed to make us want to go to this church? Is he off his nut? I for one would like to know the last time that Msgr. Fischer was actually at a mall at Christmastime. These are places that most sane people avoid like the plague. Unless, of course, he is referring to the buzz that certain CEOs might get around Christmastime at the prospect of people willingly parting with their hard-earned money only to get some useless trinkets and doo-dads to fill stockings and gift bags.

Problematic article? Yeah. (But since no one wants a church like that, he did our work for us!)

Our problem with the article? Well first of all, the article fails in the journalistic integrity department generally because it is a puff piece. It is nothing but a piece of advertising for Bishop Galante and Company, and if I was Jim Walsh I'd be embarrassed by the fact that I'd compromised my professional standards. The article does not attempt to promote a balanced view of the megachurch, dissenting opinions, or even a hint of a critical stance toward the Bishop Galante and his plans. (Wonder what in the world the Courier Post, or should we call it "The Other Catholic Star Herald," could be getting in return for this kind of coverage?)

Of course, plenty of scholarship is available on the pluses and minuses of the megachurch at this point, but not a one was touched by Jim Walsh of the CP. Here are a couple of scholars Mr. Walsh could have contacted. Quote from 2005 ABC piece:

Mega-churches are booming all over the country, not just in the South.

Scott Thumma, a theologian at Hartford Seminary, compares the phenomenon to shopping at a place like Wal-Mart.

"Just as if you go to a Wal-Mart, you can get all of your lists done in one place, it's sort of one-stop shopping for spirituality as well," Thumma said.

Randall Balmer, a theology professor at Barnard College in New York says [of mega-congregations], "It is in many ways consumerism run amok."

In contrast, here's a perfect example of more Courier Post pandering:

One more difference between the regions [South Jersey and Dallas, Texas]: Galante, who often draws angry protests with his controversial plans for parish mergers in the Camden diocese, is recalled with fondness at St. Joseph.

"You tell that bishop we miss him here," barked head usher Chuck Maltese of Wylie, Texas, a retired New York City policeman.

How funny is that? First he says we're "angry" protesters. Now why in the world should we be angry? Guess we're too hormonal again. Oh well! Maybe we should have just handed over the keys and deeds to our churches cuz Bishop asked nice and said he'd give us a latte.  (I like hazelnut, no whipped cream. Although I can't afford those kinds of fancy drinks myself!) Honestly, if barking head usher Chuck Maltese would like Bishop Galante back in Texas, I just know we in the Diocese of Camden would be only too happy to oblige. Heck, we'd pay his one-way fare back and he can bring along Ms. Vollmer and Msgr. McGrath for company, too. On us! First class all the way. (No plastic utensils, and real dishes.)

It's rather odd that the CP would make the claim that Bishop Galante is widely loved and missed in Texas considering we at savestmarys have received more than a few unsolicited emails from disgruntled Texans claiming Galante mangled their diocese in more ways than one. Could you imagine the sordid tales we'd hear if we actually bothered picking up the phone to initiate contact ourselves? We simply haven't gotten around to that yet, but we'd certainly appreciate hearing the stories of the Catholics in Texas who are still picking up the pieces.

Depressing, ain't it?

Aside from the article itself, it's just plain depressing that too many "Catholic" churches are are deviating from the Truth in that they are so susceptible to superficial novelties, and that some pastors and bishops are leading their sheep astray. However Jim Walsh makes finding flaws in this "model church" way too easy, and judging from the comments on the Courier Post website, no one seems to think of this church as something in any way desirable, nor are they buying the ridiculous stats spewed by the Diocese.

In holding up this parish Bishop Galante's true intentions become very clear. It seems he wants to dismiss Catholicism as we've known it and institute something utterly different in its place. Something worldly, something that resembles what's going on in many trendy evangelical protestant churches. Something that embraces aspects of extreme liberalism and new age-iness. Something that dumbs down and dilutes our faith. Something that appeals to no real Catholic.

Keeping up with the culture

From a 2005 ABC News article dealing with the new consumerist megachurches, a parent is quoted:

"You know, the culture is giving our kids a lot of fast-paced media and all different things that are moving along," she said. "Why can't the church keep up and do the same thing for our kids and for us?"

There's an easy answer for that one, actually. As Christians we are to be in the world but not of it. It is not the responsibility of the Church to keep pace with modern American culture. It is the responsibility of the Church to preach and teach the Good News of Jesus Christ, whether or not that conforms to our "lifestyle." How many times did Our Lord tell us that He and His Kingdom were not of this world (John 18:36)? Further in St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (2:12-14):

Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God. Which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined.

How many times must we be exhorted not to conform ourselves to the things of this world, for it is passing, but God is eternal?

And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. (1John 2:15)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that includes lattes and biscotti.

A few interesting things about the church


Cremation: Like the parishes in Florida (churches St. John the Evangelist and St. Agnes), St. Joe's seems to advocate the non-traditional practice of cremation, to the point of having something called a "Columbarium Wall" where ashes may be interred in little niches. It's pretty darn ugly. The Columbarium Wall surrounds the labyrinth. (For those of you who aren't aware, cremation is hugely popular among liberal eco-types because it takes up less space.)


Music: The choir has a CD with the predictable David Haas and Marty Hogan emotional tripe, as well as a "Zulu" song. Yay! How multi-cultural of them. At least now all the Zulus in their parish will feel welcome.

Eastern Stuff: You'll be happy to know they also have "Thai Chi Chih" available.

Questionable Curricula: Interestingly, the catechetical materials they've chosen to use over there have been given a "yellow" or caution rating by catholicculture.org, who "recommend[s] that you avoid Why Catholic." Quote:

Philip Blosser provides a perfect summary when he worries that the program is "designed by revisionists whose devious aim is to use their small group approach to refract ecclesial focus, to undermine magisterial authority, to democratize the Catholic message, to continue the AmChurch decentralization of Catholic Church in America, to continue the process of protestantizing and revising the Church and detaching her from the only moorings she has in her own traditions. . . ."

A Response from non-practicing Catholics

Here's where our coverage of this story will take a turn for the odd. Tonight after work I popped over to my younger sister's house to borrow a couple of Disney videos for my kids, to kiss my new baby niece, and to chat for a few minutes. About an hour later, as I was turning to leave, I just happened to mention this piece in the Courier Post about "a mega[Catholic] Church that the bishop seems to want to replicate here in South Jersey, which has a cappuccino bar."

Now keep in mind that my sister, who is 28, and her husband, who is 32, were both raised Catholic. But, not uncommonly, they are both completely non-practicing. My older niece, who has just begun first grade, has never even been baptized. Other than to attend the baptisms of my own children and the occasional funeral, to the best of my knowledge, she hasn't darkened the doorway of a church in at least five years. She has her own reasons, I know, but we don't talk much about them. The point is, we couldn't be more polar opposite on the religion issue, unless maybe she was a rabid atheist or something.

Without so much as the blink of an eye, the two of them--my sister and brother-in-law--went off. They found the prospect of what a church like this could be, could look like, could morph into, etc. absurd and funny. What struck me most about what follows is that the very audience Galante and Company is trying to entice--the lapsed Catholics, the young families,  professionals, etc.--are the very people who see right through all the crap. People like my sister and her husband, who don't like BS. If there was a possibility of ever being religious, they'd prefer their religion to not be mixed up in materialism. So I thought I'd share some of this [admittedly irreverent at times] rapid-fire back-and-forth between my sister and her husband with you, just to give you an idea of how truly ineffectual all this "nonsense" is. Honestly, I was laughing really hard. They definitely "got it," and with zero prompting by me.

Here's a link to the "Hammonton News" piece that describes how happy and relieved the St. Anthony's parishioners are (I'm sure my neighbors feel this way) that their church is now "safe." The bottom line here is that we all want to believe what is easiest to believe. Let's hope and pray that the church does survive, but let's also remember what Fr. Gregorio said in his letter to the editor of the Cape May Herald. He said that more painful consolidations will be necessary in 2015. This more than implies that Bishop Galante, Msgr. Joyce, Ms. Vollmer, and Msgr. McGrath have plans far into the future to completely disfigure the Diocese of Camden beyond our wildest nightmares. (One wonders if Gregorio "let one slip" he wasn't supposed to.)

Whoever believes that Bishop Galante and Company will in the long term allow one small, South Jersey town to keep three--count 'em--THREE churches when others will be left with none is fooling himself. (Besides, God only knows what's going on negotiation-wise with the town of Hammonton and the various properties. Judging from the mayor and police chief's attitude toward protesters alone, one wonders how much the town is involved in all this.)

If the idea was to keep St. Anthony's from filing an appeal, which we know they were prepared to do, then perhaps the bishop has succeeded. Think about it. Why would a church appeal if they believe they are safe? This is an easy way to break down resistance. It's a little like that Stockholm Syndrome you've probably heard of. It's that strange mental condition in which kidnapped, tortured, or abused people become loyal to their abusers. Ironically, many in these newly "safe" churches may now think well of the bishop and defend his actions, even though he put their church on the chopping block, a place it may in reality still be. If people believe their church will survive, they may stop fighting. Well guys, don't stop fighting. Don't be fooled. Our churches and our Faith is not safe until we are all assured the right to worship without threat, in peace, in the houses of God our ancestors built us.

(As usual, thanks to our faithful readers  for forwarding us the link.)

This letter to the editor was in the Cape May County Herald a month ago, in direct response to the Council of Parishes calling for a halt to the diocesan destruction.

(In case you didn't know, Fr. Gregorio already accused the Atlantic City Press of being a prostitute in another letter to the editor. He must be moving on to the next one, now. Is Fr. Gregorio sort of like the Flyer's Dave Brown? Remember him?



As I recall, he was the last to play for the Flyers (not the NHL--that was Craig MacTavish) without a helmet. The guy was nuts. He was not the best player in the world skill-wise, but he was the one they'd send in when they were losing the game because he was a fighter and could attempt to incur penalties on the opposing team. In other words, cause distraction and confusion in a last ditch effort to salvage the game. It was a lot of fun to watch, if ya like the "old time hockey." But often when you were watching him in action you knew it was because the Flyers were losing. But I digress!)

Now most of this letter is the "same old same old" and not worth reading. You know...we're all just "emotionally attached" to our parishes (as if all we needed was to be a little less hormonal) and there's a priest shortage and no one will ever enter the seminary again, blah blah blah. As if any of those reasons were legitimate. But here's something we haven't heard before (quote):

Again if you were the bishop, and you knew that the average diocesan priest today is 64, and that only 12 men are in all stages of seminary theological training, and that many times that will retire or die by 2015, what would you do? What will the average age be in 2015? By then, the bishop will be forced to do another, even more painful consolidation. Fair-minded people are saying this bishop had the courage to do what two or three previous bishops should have done since they had the same demographics.

Three things will be addressed here, not necessarily in order. First, as you can tell, one of the primary themes of this letter is, "If you were the bishop, what would you do?" Of course, none of us are the bishop nor will we ever be, but I for one can answer this question definitively nonetheless. Here is my answer, Fr. Gregorio. Ahem. Here goes.

 If I were the bishop, I would:

A. Pray daily for the continual conversion of my own heart and mind, the hearts and minds of all entrusted to my care, and for the conversion of all lost sheep fallen away from the Church especially. In this and many, many other ways, I would evangelize.

B. Trust in the Blessed Mother of God, who has never and will never fail her children. I would pray to her for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The vocations are there. (We see them beautifully growing in other diocese, orders, and in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, for example.) God never stops planting them in the hearts of his children. Sometimes they're just buried in muck and not able to grow.

C. I would institute vocational programs and initiatives like other diocese do (look at St. Louis!) to inspire and embolden young men and women to explore, ascertain, and go after their God-given vocations!

D. I would set an example of holiness that inspires those under my care.

E. I would be--personally--extremely accessible. (Again, look at the St. Louis and the example of the walks with the bishop.)

F. The actions of the institutional diocese would be transparent not secretive, honest and not misleading, and the sentiments and concerns of the faithful would not be belittled, but instead taken seriously and answered. An honest man never has anything to hide.

G. I would not take down half the churches in the diocese, whether or not I had ulterior motives, whether or not there was financial incentive, whether or not I preferred McMegachurches, whether or not I felt that small parishes did not have the right to exist, whether or not I had a supposed "priest shortage," whether or not I was involved with con artist Raffaelo Follieri. As bishop I would be well aware that these churches are not mine, but that I am meant to shepherd souls and not manage real estate. As a bishop I would consider it my job to build up the body of Christ, not dismantle and undermine it.

H. I would consider the history of the Church in this country and realize that Catholic priests were basically circuit riders up until very recently, and that traveling two miles down the road or more to the next parish is not a hardship for anyone with a job in the "real world." (Heck, most of us are lucky if our commutes are under an hour. And look at the Byzantine priests! These guys travel back and forth many, many miles.) I would remind my priests that, according to the Holy Pope St. Pius X, that "priest" and "hard work" are synonymous, anyway.

I. I would promote the traditional Latin mass and traditional Catholicism generally because the undiluted Truth is what all young people hunger after.

J. I would promote Eucharistic adoration and, in the diocesan offices, a chapel available for perpetual adoration. In this way I could go to the Eucharistic Lord for guidance in all things, as could all diocesan employees, at anytime. (After all, if Follieri could have a chapel in his office, why not the Diocese of Camden?)

K. I would ensure that all seminary education that seminarians received was solid and in accordance with teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Faith. If they are wanting, I would remove necessary instructors or have them change their content. If necessary I would again do as Pope St. Pius X did and instruct seminarians myself, if necessary. I would not allow any "nonsense" (as a good priest I know often likes to say) to creep into seminary education or parish religious education.

L. I would not send priests away from the diocese if I truly believed there was a shortage.

M. I would not institute a lay-led initiative that would certainly undermine the sacred responsibilities and authority of priests.

N. If I realized that my actions were in error, no matter how far into them I was and no matter how hard it seemed to turn around, I would repent, publicly confess my mistakes, beg Our Lord's forgiveness, and start on the right path immediately. There is never, ever any shame in stopping wrong action in favor of righteous action, so changing course is always an option. Some of the greatest saints in the history of the Church have been repentant sinners, and indeed this is what gives us all hope, right?

There certainly may be things I've missed, but these things I would do for sure if I was bishop.

Secondly, if the past three bishops should have done something they did not, then they must have been mistaken in their judgment somehow. How and why should we now assume that our current bishop, Bishop Galante, is correct? Why should we trust him if the past three bishops' judgment was lacking?

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Fr. Gregorio points out that Bishop Galante will be forced, in 2015--seven years from now--to do "another, even more painful consolidation." Hmmm. That's interesting. So the "consolidation" that we are seeing now is not the end, according to Gregorio. There is more to come. This warrants an announcement.

Long in the works, here's a lengthy article (7 pages total) on Raffaello Follieri. Any responses to the piece are welcome.

Click here to read.

St. Mary's Malaga annually celebrates the Feast of the Assumption as its special feast day. The 11:30 mass (the one we happened to attend) was wonderful and the church itself was packed to the gills. It was standing room only.

This year we were blessed with what was probably some of the strangest weather in the history of the feast. In August, of all months, we had not only quite the storm--including dark, foreboding skies and lots of rain--but also hail throughout South Jersey!

Even more amazing, though, is the fact that so many stuck around throughout the day despite the rainstorm. People retreated to the basement or took cover under awnings and tents until it let up somewhat. Some even stayed in line to get their chicken! Boy that chicken must be pretty good.

Moreover, the storm did not begin until after the procession to Our Lady in the Rosary Garden had concluded. We even had a respite from the rain for some traditional Italian dances. It was a lot of fun.

We at St. Mary's count ourselves blessed always. God gives us so much--a beautiful church, a strong and holy pastor, fervent and abiding faith, the undiluted Truth is desired and preached here (not something to be taken for granted today), Eucharistic adoration is available 3 days a week, there are so many activities and groups, and miraculously there exists a real community of faith where people know and can depend upon one another. Our Lady really looks after little St. Mary's. So with all that, what's a little rain?

First we had mass. Then,
        we prayed & processed...