Magical Yak

Been awhile but I might start using this again. Work is awful but I have a wonderful wife and son and soon a daughter.

Yeah, I haven't been around in a while so a brief update. I'm not going back to seminary but I think I said that. Got a raise and a promotion at work so that's cool. I'm taking MBA classes at Penn State in my free time and also heading to some of the games in Happy Valley (Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois, Temple). I'll post more later but I'm still around.

Seriously, I've never seen Kennett Square in the news. The town is known for mushroom growing (of all things) and apparantly that horse lives here to. This is the town I grew up in and am currently in now. I'm of no relation to the horse...I have strong bones.

If you haven't heard, the FDA has backed a vaccine for cervical cancer http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-060518vaccine,1,3572553.story?coll=chi-news-hed

It now seems odd to me that many family groups would be against using the vaccine on pre-teen girls as part of required shots. For those of you who don't know the leading cause of cervical cancer amoung young women, it is HPV. HPV is also known as genital warts and is one of the most wide-spread and infectious STDs out there today. Estimates are as high as saying about 50% of all sexually active teens have HPV. Once you have it, as with any virus, you have it for life. HPV particularly affects young women going through puberty and these women are much more susceptible to contracting cervical cancer due to the size and development of their cervix (older women are less likely to contract this). It's a big and scary deal and one that is not told to many people who really should know. Condoms do NOT protect against HPV, it is spread through skin to skin contact.

Now, many say allowing the vaccine encourages pre-teens and teens to have sex. Maybe I would think, but unlike contraception, there is nothing inherently wrong in a vaccine! Also, you can still get a variety of other STDs. If the vaccine is 100% effective, why wouldn't we use it? I don't see the same argument here as I do with condoms or other things so I would think it should be supported. Am I missing something? Anyone know more on this?

FYI - for those who don't know, almost all my posts are friends-only. I'm very open to adding people as friends but my posts on seminary, marriage and my life and ones I don't share with the public. If you'd like to be added as a friend, respond here and I'll add you. I only ask that you be respectful (I do not require you to agree with me). Thank you!

So I went on the pilgrimmage to Lourdes this year with the Knights of Malta and it was a great experience. I got to work in the baths one of the mornings (which isn't easy because there are many volunteers there). I made about 50 new friends (ok, maybe 25) but still. I also am going to see about going back to seminary in the Fall for Bridgeport, CT most likely.

So I finally am watching this movie....a few observations:

1) Michael Moore isn't a very good historian: He says no President has ever faced protest during the inaugural parade. That's a bunch of BS. Abraham Lincoln, who also freed the slaves and was the first Republican candidate, was forced to arrive in Washington in disguise and during the night under fear of assasination. I guess Moore never watched Ken Burn's documentary of the Civil War (or learned much about Lincoln).

2) Micheal doesn't understand logic very well. He often confuses emotion with reason. For example, the rule of a Senator needed to support a protest to the vote count is completely ridiculous because if you disagree, then I guess rules don't matter, like a recount, the Supreme Court or even Gore himself agreeing it was over.

3) His recounting of the world trade center and Bush's reaction completely forgets the FACT that NO ONE knew it was a plane of significance UNTIL the second one hit. How do I know? I was watching CNBC that morning and Maria Bartiroma explaining how a "small plane" had crashed into the WTC, which was backed by the other stations. I think it so odd that others find they are able to think perfectly in the past. Gee...Michael, what did you do when you first heard of the WTC? Hey wait a second! What was Gore doing at that time? You know, I don't really care because until the event was over, all of them couln't have done much. It is not like Bush was direct air traffic, flying the plan or manning a machine gun on the building.

4)He thinks that one report should have told us Bin Laden was going to attack. There are so many of those reports and none came to fruition until that day.


You know....I'm not watching the rest of this, it's just making me angry. I think Bush has done a fine job as President. I'm not in touch with the public either (assuming you think the public is what others tell you it is).

Why do I watch political movies....I hope I learned my lesson!

Some days you feel bad, today is not one of them for me. For some reason I feel like I did what I should today and that purpose and meaning have been fully restored in my life. I'm not going in depth about it but it marks a big turning point for me.

Oh yeah, I decided to go back to seminary. I'm going to apply to Bridegport again I think.

So a few interesting things I guess. I finally decided to go hang out with my reenactor friends and went to an event at Fort McHenry in Baltimore this weekend (this is the fort that flew the flag that Francis Scott Key saw and composed the Star Spangled Banner). The event went well.

So I'm dressed up as a civil war soldier (4th US Regulars to be exact, with dress uniform) and decided to go to Mass at 5:30 at Our Lady of Good Counsel on Fort Drive. Honestly it was the worst Mass experience I ever had. Seriously, if there is no God or the Catholic church isn't right, I would never go to things like this because it was God-awful. First of all, the singing was atrocious, the cantor sang in vibratto (sp?) every time (she was a typical older woman with short hair who acted like an American Idol contestant rather than a cantor in Holy Mass, but that's only my interpretation). Seriously cantors, DO NOT SING IN VIBRATTO, noone can follow you and it sounds awful. She also decided to add another song during the presentation of the gifts that was completely unnecessary (and it was followed by compliments by the show's host (oh, I mean the lector)).

So the singing was awful, I've been through that before (almost every Mass has the familiar bad singing) however today was also Gaudete sunday where the priest wears ROSE colored vestments. Yes, they do look pink, but there is a color named Rose and that is what it is, not pink. Why do I care? Because the priest decides (at an inappropriate time during the Mass) to tell us he is wearing pink today and that it's his favorite color because it matches his bloodshot eyes (is that a joke, is he gay? a drinking problem? just making fun of the Mass and rubrics?). He also tells us it is his 50th birthday. You know, I don't know him and I already don't like him and could care less when his birthday is. You can tell me this in conversation, but it's not appropriate to tell me during Mass where I am forced to listen to you.

You know, bad singing and inappropriate comments I have put up with and have gotten used to. This next part is what did it for me (along with the cantor leading the entire congregation in a "Happy Brithday" song DURING Mass). There is part in the Mass where the priest raises the Body of Christ (this is what Catholics beleive) and only the priest does this (the Deacon raises the Chalice I think, but only those who are ordained can do this). Not in this Mass. The cantor, lector and server all received the Consecrated Hosts and lifted them along with the priest. This is not right and it is really upsetting. No wonder people are so confused over transubstantiation and Jesus being God. I wanted to leave, I wanted to cry. If I didn't have faith, I would not ever want to be Catholic having witnessed this Mass.

So here is what I'm thinking. I'm going to follow my more liberal minded brethen in the Church and write a letter. However, instead of going straight to the Bishop, which I could do, I am going to give the priest a chance and send a letter to him. I am going to tell him what I saw, why what I saw was wrong and ask simply if there is a reason the Mass when this way (I will obviously only focus on the elevation of the Eucharist by the laity). I am going to tell him I plan to write the Bishop but will wait for a response from him if he chooses to respond. I think that is more than fair, I also think I know what will happen...nothing.

Let me ask any of you who are Catholic (or have gone to Mass) to please write to the Bishop about liturgical abuse. My letter will have no effect, I know this, but 5 letters would. If you ever have a similar experience, please help the church and try to correct the priests in this way. I also want to mention that letters written with a purpose of gentle correction are usually better received than those composed of venting (like I did above).

Anyway, that was my weekend...