CHOIR DIRECTOR/ORGANIST ESCAPES ATHENS COUNTY! FILM AT 11!

I'm traveling to the Ohio Valley this weekend, assuming that my husband has returned from his extended (grrrr....) trip to Philly/New Jersey. Saturday morning, the older children and I will go to a used-church-goods warehouse, then on Sunday, the whole family hopes to travel to the St. Anthony Chapel, which houses the largest collection of relics outside the Vatican.

Consequently, the choir won't be officially singing this weekend, but for those of you who will be in town - PLEASE SING ANYWAY!

We'll have choir rehearsal next Thursday (Sept. 3) at 7:00 p.m., and Father will be there to practice the Preface with us. If you have friends/acquaintances/distant relatives that are new in the area, are Catholic (or becoming Catholic), and can SING WELL, bring 'em to practice.

A Sailor, Soldier and Marine walked into a bar....

The Meaning of "Secure a Building" in different branches of the military:

If you told Navy personnel to "secure a building", they would turn off the lights and lock the doors.

Army personnel would occupy the building so no one could enter.

Marines would assault the building, capture it, and defend it with suppressive fire and close combat.

Air Force personnel would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy.

(Celestine's note: ...can't...breathe...laughing...too...hard....)

Reality Star Chooses Life

Article courtesy of LifeSiteNews. I'd love for her to say she's pro-life, but perhaps that would turn off her target audience from the positive message. God bless her and her baby, and well as that fantastic doctor (see the last paragraph).

Reality TV Star Kourtney Kardashian Chooses Life
"I can't even tell you how many people just say, 'Oh, get an abortion.' Like it's not a big deal," says the star.

By Matthew Anderson

August 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Kourtney Kardashian, the famous socialite and model, told People magazine in a recent interview that she considered having her unborn child aborted but changed her mind after reading about the traumatizing effects of abortion online.

"I looked online, and I was sitting on the bed hysterically crying, reading these stories of people who felt so guilty from having an abortion," Kourtney told David Caplan of People.

Kardashian, who is most famous for her role in the reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E!, announced last week that she was pregnant.

Though Kardashian openly supports abortion as a legitimate choice in her interview, she says that she wrestled with the decision, something she thinks not many people do.

"I do think every woman should have the right to do what they want, but I don't think it's talked through enough."

However, after researching the emotionally and physically devastating effects of abortion on women, she said, "I was just sitting there crying, thinking, 'I can't do that.' "

"I felt in my body, this is meant to be. God does things for a reason, and I just felt like it was the right thing that was happening in my life."

Further, Kardashian says she recognized that her motives for aborting the baby would have been selfishly driven. Kardashian, who with her sisters Khloe and Kim owns the clothing boutique DASH, said, "For me, all the reasons why I wouldn't keep the baby were so selfish: It wasn't like I was raped, it's not like I'm 16. I'm 30 years old, I make my own money, I support myself, I can afford to have a baby."

Disturbingly, though, Kardashian said a number of people advised her to get an abortion without much thought to the gravity of the matter.

"I can't even tell you how many people just say, 'Oh, get an abortion.' Like it's not a big deal."

Luckily she was advised by a friend to see a doctor, and the doctor encouraged her to research abortion online. He also told her that she would never regret having the child, but she might very well regret aborting it.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 23, 2009

Processional: Go Make of All Disciples (BB 190)
Offertory: Where Charity and Love Prevail (BB 419)
Communion: De fructu....
Recessional: Holy, Holy, Holy (BB 211)

I'd like to learn the Ubi Caritas chant (BB 421), but it won't be done by this weekend. (The Benoit version of Where Charity and Love Prevail is an excellent substitute, though.) We'll work on the chant slowly, and we'll have a LOT of opportunities to use it.

Starting in September, we'll be singing the Preface at Mass. Exciting!!!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 16, 2009

Processional: Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise (BB 185)
Offertory: The King of Love My Shepherd Is (BB 483)
Communion: Qui Manducat...
Recessional: Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (BB 102)

Most of the summer choir will be in Buffalo this weekend to see/hear Fr. Corapi. I expect a full transcript when they get back.

Horrors

Fall Quarter starts in a month, so I'm officially depressed. The good news is that The Blogmistress is taking a choral conducting class, so maybe all that crazy hand waving I do in the loft will start to make sense.

I should request a class that teaches various wild-eyed head gestures so that I can effectively conduct while playing the organ. Somebody's gotta teach that stuff -- you know -- the stuff that really matters.

Please put your Feelings of Dread and Tales of Woe in the comments. And any Happy News too, if you insist.

This has been a Public Service Announcement.

(For the Naysayers: Yes - I'm very grateful to God Almighty for all the blessings and opportunities He has given me.)

Mensah Pictures!

OOH OOH OOH! I never post pictures, preferring to leave the job to the ever-talented Celestine, because the process strains my limited intellect. However, I'm making an exception today; I've dusted the cobwebs from my synapses, and well, here we go!

Blogger is throwing the pictures at the top; I don't seem to have control over where they appear. This will make individual captioning slightly challenging.

Top: Altar Boys (one of them belonging to your blogmistressness), Msgr. Gaughan, His Excellency Bishop Thomas Mensah, and Fr. Tuffuor.

Bottom: Fr. Tuffuor, Fr. Holler, Archishop Mensah, Msgr. Gaughan

Photos by John Halley

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 9, 2009

Processional: Crown Him With Many Crowns (BB 747)
Offertory: O Sanctissima (BB 701)
Communion: Panis..... (I'll send out the practice recordings via email.)
Recessional: All Creatures of Our God and King (BB 548)