Parish Retreat at Church of the Incarnation in Collierville, TN

This Saturday, from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM I will be leading a parish retreat at Incarnation Catholic Church in Collierville, TN.  Through four sessions, I will talk about how the Mass is a prayer that engages the mind, soul, strength, and heart.

My wife and I are driving out there.  The trip from Trenton to Memphis is about 17 hours.  We're driving two days out there and two days back.  So... we'd certainly appreciate prayers for a safe trip and a fruitful retreat!

Remote control + shin

A couple nights ago, as my wife and I were in the living room watching TV, she asked me to pass her the remote control.  I was sitting in my chair, and she was laying on the couch (facing me).  I feebly tossed her the remote, such that its narrow edge ended up striking her upper shin.  Despite the pain, we were quickly laughing about it.

And in the laughter, I attempted to excuse my weak throw by explaining, "I didn't want to throw it and have it come near your head... where you could catch it with your hands..."

Back from Pilgrimage, etc.

Sorry for the blog silence.  The internet accessibility in Irondale was poor.  I made it back home on July 10th, safe and sound.  Drove over 2500 miles in a week!

I'm busy at work and at home, and I'm still doing the research-reading for chapter 6 (The Eucharistic Prayer) of The Prayers of the Priest.  I'll get back to blogging more regularly soon, I hope.

Pilgrimage-Vacation Day 3: Irondale; De Soto Caverns (Morning)

I'm staying in the Irondale area today. Mass and Rosary in the morning, then a visit to De Soto Caverns and Talladega National Forest. I'll be back in Irondale in time for a light dinner before attending a taping of Crossing the Threshold of Hope, hosted by Fr. Mitch Pacwa. We're reading Vita Consecrata.

Pilgrimage-Vacation Day 2: Cincinnati to Irondale (Evening)

During my drive from Cincinnati to Irondale (photos), I made two noteworthy stops:  in Nashville, the Dominican sisters (photos); in Hanceville, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament (photos pending).

The internet connection at the Holiday Inn Express in Irondale leaves much to be desired.  It is not very strong and not very reliable.  Any nearby internet cafés?

Pilgrimage-Vacation Day 2: Cincinnati to Irondale (Morning)

Today I am driving from Cincinnati, OH to Irondale, AL.

I'll be stopping in Nashville, TN, to drop off a couple of my books with the Dominican Sisters there (and have lunch too). Their apostolate includes catechesis, so I figured it would be a nice gesture to offer them a couple complimentary copies, and they sounded delighted (on the phone).

I'm also stopping in Hanceville, AL, at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, for Evening Prayer (Vespers) of the Divine Office. I have my Christian Prayer book with me. Another post tonight will showcase photos from the day.

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Pilgrimage-Vacation Day 1: Allentown to Cincinnati (Evening)

I made the 600 mile drive in 10 hours (11am to 9pm) with only two stops:  one at the West Virginia Welcome Center, and the other at exit 178 on I-70 in Ohio to have dinner at a Cracker Barrel and fill up my gas tank.

You can see photos from the drive here, and my attempt at photos of fireworks in Cincinnati here.

Pilgrimage-Vacation Day 1: Allentown to Cincinnati (Morning)

Today I am driving from Allentown, PA to Cincinnati, OH.  Ordinarily, I would take the PA Turnpike, but I've driven that way numerous times recently.  So instead, I'm opting for a longer drive with newer scenery and fewer tolls, dipping south into Maryland and West Virginia.  I'll stop at a few scenic overlooks.  Another post tonight will showcase my photos.

Here is a "Driver's Prayer" I found from the Sacred Heart Auto League:

God our Father,
you led Abraham from his home
and guarded him in all of his travels.
Be with us now as we travel
and guard us every mile of our journey.
Help us to be attentive, cautious,
and concerned about our fellow travelers.
Make our highways safe
and keep us from all danger.

Sacred Heart of Jesus,
guide us to our destination
and help us to drive prayerfully and carefully.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Amen.

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Pilgrimage-Vacation Day 0: Allentown

Okay, so I'm not really on pilgrimage yet, just vacation.  I'm driving to Allentown, PA this morning to be with my parents and some of my family for the 4th of July weekend.  But tomorrow I'm beginning my pilgrimage, driving about 9-10 hours to Cincinnati, OH.

I'll be keeping a photo-log (plog?) of my pilgrimage, probably through publicly-shared Facebook photo albums, unless I decide to use Picasa or something like that.

What am I leaving behind?  A house that now has working air conditioning (which it will need for the next several days... it's supposed to hit 90 today and 97 tomorrow!), a fish aptly named Poisson, and a very comfortable bed.  Upon my return, hopefully the A/C will still be working (and the temperature will be lower), the fish will still be alive (I've given it one of those multi-day food thingies), my bed will not have up-and-left, and my wife will be en route from Toronto.

Happy 4th of July!

Summer Pilgrimage

From July 4 through July 10, I will be on pilgrimage!  I'll be going from Allentown (where my parents live), through Cincinnati and Nashville, to Birmingham (to visit EWTN), then back home through Charlotte (to visit another blogger and his Liturgy & Lager group).

• Sunday - Driving to Cincinnati
• Monday
• Hopefully an in-studio guest on the Son Rise Morning Show
• Driving to Nashville for a brief visit to the Dominican Sisters there
• Driving to Hanceville in time for the Divine Office that evening
• Driving to Irondale to my hotel
• Tuesday
• Divine Office, Mass, and Rosary in the morning
• Day trip to Desoto Caverns and places in Birmingham
• Back at Irondale for a studio tour, Divine Office, dinner, and Threshold of Hope
• Wednesday
• Divine Office, Mass, and Rosary in the morning
• Day trip to the Cullman area (Ave Maria Grotto, Bankhead Forest, Rickwood Caverns)
• Back at Irondale for dinner and EWTN Live
• Thursday
• Divine Office, Mass, and Rosary in the morning
• Day trip to the Birmingham area (museums, churches, etc.)
• Back at Irondale for Divine Office, dinner, and Life on the Rock
• Friday
• Driving to Hanceville in time for Mass and Rosary
• Driving to Charlotte for Liturgy & Lager
• Saturday - Driving home

Sorry for the silence...

It has been a really hectic couple of weeks, so I apologize for not having much new content on my blog lately. I'm going to finish looking at Bishop Nickless' pastoral letter and I'm going to continue going through Vatican II's Inter Mirifica.

But for the time being, I'm busy at my office, busy reading (That Hideous Strength, The Gargoyle Code, and the Bible), busy writing (Praying the Mass: The Prayers of the Priest), and busy preparing religious education material.

Busy!

Tonight I begin as a catechist for 6th-graders, who will be learning about salvation history. We're starting at the beginning (Genesis 1, the creation) rather than where their textbook starts (with Abram in Genesis 11).

As soon as I get home from that, I'll be stopping back home for a few minutes to pack and say good-bye to my wife, and then it's down to Maryland. I'm staying at my sister's house for two nights while I attend the CMAA Gregorian Chant Pilgrimage at the National Shrine in Washington, DC. I wanted to have copies of my book with me, but I placed the order too late, so it won't arrive at my sister's house until sometime next week. When I won't be there. Darn. (I'll get them from her shortly thereafter. I also ordered a shipment to my address.)

I very much want to have copies by next Saturday, so that I can give one to Jeff Cavins. I also need to have copies by the following Friday, when I go to visit some clergy out in Pennsylvania, as well as my friend Russ Rentler. (Hopefully, I'll be attending his CD release concert.)

I'm so happy that already in its first day, people have bought my book. That tells me that there is demand for this sort of thing. Thanks be to God for that!

Vacation

I'm on vacation with my wife, her brother, and their parents for a week or so. We're driving down to Sanibel Island, FL, with a stop in Savannah, GA.

It'll be pretty quiet here.

Personal: 10-year High School Reunion

My wife and I are going into NYC tonight for a casual 10-year reunion with my high school class. (It won't be like a prom or a fancy dinner or any of that.) It's a bit weird when I realize that I've been out of high school for a decade.

Blogging's been a bit slow for the past week or two. Things will pick up speed again soon.

God loves irony

I was the reader at Mass this morning. I got blindsided by God during the First Reading. As I read from Acts 22, I could feel my lips begin to quiver and I could hear my voice shake and falter. I broke down in tears as I read the final words: "Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his name." (Acts 22:16) It was a good five seconds before I could say "The word of the Lord."

I wiped my eyes and face during the Psalm. I walked back up to the ambo to read from 1 Corinthians. I was well-composed this time, except for a smirk that crossed my face as I read what the Lord had prepared for me: "those weeping [act] as not weeping." (1 Cor 7:30)

Thank you, Lord.

Merry (and Hectic) Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

After news of my promotion and end-of-the-year award, things went haywire. On Sunday evening, the air conditioning units in my office's server room stopped working (so the servers basked in 100+ temperatures until Monday). On Tuesday, a critical database server went down and did not reboot properly; I worked until 9:15 that evening. On Wednesday, we were still in server-cleanup mode (since the other developer, who knows far more about system administration and hardware than I do) was on vacation (and otherwise incapacitated, having gone through sinus surgery that morning).

Christmas Eve dinner was held at my brother's house in Morris County -- pirogis and oplatky (the Slovak traditions from my mother's side) and shrimp.

Christmas morning, my wife and I exchanged gifts (more on those later), went to 9:00 AM Mass -- and knelt during the "By the power of the Holy Spirit..." in the Creed (genua flectunt, "they bend the knees", GIRM 137) -- and then drove up to her parents' place where we stayed until Friday afternoon. I brought my laptop (because I knew work would have to be done at some point).

At around 10:30 that evening, I did a bit of work, and made an error that ground the web server to a halt. So at 11:45 PM on Christmas, I drove down from Rutherford (near Giants' Stadium) to Princeton to fix a server issue that I could not repair remotely and which I did not feel justified in asking someone else to take care of at such a late hour and which could not wait until the morning. I got back to Rutherford around 2:30 am on Friday. I calmed myself on the drive down with a Rosary and prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet on the way back in thanksgiving for a smooth resolution to my stupid programming error. (Programmers: remember to properly terminate your forked processes. Spawning 2**27 - 1 processes on the web server is never a wise move.)

Now, at the close of Friday, my wife and I are back in Princeton. Tonight, we're playing a game I bought her and watching a DVD she bought me. (Presents in a minute...)

Tomorrow, we're going into Newark to see Video Games Live (performed by the NJ Symphony Orchestra) with a few friends. Sunday, after Mass, we're watching the last NY Giants game of the regular season. And relaxing.

Presents! Among other things, my wife gave me the 5-disc NY Giants Superbowl Champions DVD box set and some much-needed clothes; she also gave me a book by Eamon Duffy, "Faith of our Fathers", which is his personal reflection on traditional Catholicism... I can't wait to read it! Some of the gifts I gave her were a cute card game called Guillotine (which we've played before) and a 12" x 16" Annunciation by Fra Angelico (pictured at right).

With the money I received from my in-laws, I bought a peacoat, a collared shirt, and a brown vest. I also received a full pajama set and a pair of slacks from Kristin's parents. So now I'm going to try some clothing on and end up in my new pajamas to cuddle up by the fireplace with Kristin and play some Guillotine and relive football memories from a year ago!

Merry Christmas!

Personal: Good news!

At my company's Christmas party, I was told ahead of time that I would be receiving a promotion (from Junior Developer to Senior Developer). I was not told that I was also to be the recipient of the annual Chairman's award! That was a pleasant surprise!

3 x 3 x 3

I am 27 today. That's 3 to the 3rd power. I'd say that's a good number then.

The wife and I went to Mass last night (RCIA Rite of Welcoming for our parish's two catechumens and one candidate), so this morning we slept in, and are heading out to have brunch at Lambertville Station.

After Bible Study from 4pm - 6pm this afternoon, there'll be dinner and cake (the cake is not a lie) and then we watch the New York Football Giants decimate the Philadelphia Eagles. Hopefully.

Personal: Blue and Green

I've just purchased my very first new car, one of the first 2009 Toyota Prius Hybrids.

Here I am, looking good next to it.



Here I am, highlighting its hybridity.



Here I am, utterly ecstatic at its hybridity.

Personal: First Anniversary

My wife and I were married last June (2007); our first wedding anniversary came and went without fanfare, because she's been studying at Notre Dame University in Indiana for the past six weeks. Tomorrow, I'm flying out to her. Thursday morning, we drive to Niagara Falls. Friday night we arrive in Albany, NY. Saturday afternoon, my best man is getting married. Sunday we'll be back home.

I'm not bringing my laptop with me; I have no need for such a distraction. Have a good week(end), everyone.