Wonderful Developments, Liturgical and Otherwise, at St. Mark Parish in Plano January 31, 2020
Posted by Tantumblogo in Art and Architecture, awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, Eucharist, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Latin Mass, Liturgy, North Deanery, priests, Restoration, sanctity, the struggle for the Church, Tradition, true leadership.comments closed
He lives! Sorry for the long absence. I even missed the 10th anniversary of the blog by a month and a half.
But something important has come up.
I have known the young pastor of St. Mark parish in Plano, Texas, since he was a newly ordained priest. We were always gratified to see him wearing the occasional cassock and frequent Roman chasuble. He even wore black at funeral Masses. I figured we could expect great things from him.
This good priest, Fr. Marco Rangel, had some other assignments in the intervening 10 or so years, but last year he was assigned as the pastor of St. Mark in Plano. He has made a number of changes that I believe almost all devout Catholics will find most positive.
First, St. Mark, god bless it and whatever its merits, I don’t think has ever been anyone’s idea of a brilliant architectural and artistic achievement. A sunken sanctuary with stadium seating and bare concrete and stucco walls, it at least did have one very large stained glass window, and a nice, traditional crucifix (which the former pastor, Fr. Cliff Smith, is to be thanked for fighting for. He caught surprising flak for replacing the touchdown Jesus, Christ rising on the cross “crucifix” with a far more tasteful,a nd I would say, accurate and Catholic one). However, Fr. Rangel has made a number of changes, which you can see below. Most photos were taken during Christmas, which of course includes additional decorations, but most all the paintings and statuary are new. The angels kneeling in adoration next to the tabernacle are definitely new, and so welcome, as is the Benedictine arrangement on the altar.
The before:
Some initial changes: Small but noticeable:
The full monte:
Changes to the Eucharistic adoration chapel:
I’m amazed at the improvements these changes have made. Some – like the addition of the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe – were made under Father Smith, but most have been made under Father Rangel.
Next, there are major liturgical improvements underway. Father Rangel offered Mass partially in Latin during Advent and on Christmas, and will do so again during Lenten Sunday Masses. This included the propers and Gloria in Latin as appropriate, as well as organ music and Gregorian chant. Father Rangel intends to continue adding more and more reverent aspects to the Liturgy and is open to even becoming bi-ritual, should interest warrant such a move.
And that’s one of the purposes of this post, not only to apprise of these positive developments, and prove I am still alive, but also to ask readers here in the Diocese of Dallas to send a letter of support to Bishop Burns for authentic, orthodox liturgical improvements, the Traditional Latin Mass, and Father Rangel in particular. Whether you attend St. Mark or not, if you desire to see liturgy more in keeping with the constant belief and practice of the Church, this is a great opportunity to show both your interest and your support for a local priest who is taking large steps in that direction. Of course, Father Rangel has encountered a great deal of resistance, so he could use all the support he can get. This kind of support can be vital in determining how a bishop may respond to these kinds of initiatives made on the part of pastors. I thus implore all local readers, and even interested non-local ones (you should indicate whether or not you reside in the Diocese), to contact both Bishop Burns and Father Rangel. I provide some form letters below, which you are free to use. It is quite a risk for a priest to make changes like this, and at this pace. Father Rangel has not been pastor at St. Mark for even a year, yet, I do not believe.
This also ties in with changes in catechesis and sacramental preparation at St. Mark, which is my final point. Father Rangel is working to revamp the materials used in these vital areas, to be in accord with timeless, unchanging Church teaching which goes back to the Apostolic Deposit of Faith, and not just the current theological experimentations presently in vogue.
Letters should be sent to:
Bishop Edward Burns
Catholic Diocese of Dallas
3725 Blackburn St.
Dallas, TX, 75219
A sample letter is included below, just as an idea. Feel free to compose your own:
Dear Bishop Burns –
Greetings in Christ! I have been apprised of the very positive liturgical, architectural, and catechetical improvements made by Father Marco Rangel of St. Mark parish in Plano, Texas, and I am writing to indicate my wholehearted support for these efforts. Father Rangel is moving the liturgy at St. Mark to be very reverent and to offer great glory and honor to God. His artistic and liturgical changes are in keeping with the great patrimony of our Holy Mother Church, and unite our worship with that of millions of Catholics through years past. His changes incorporating more Latin, Gregorian chant, and great reverence for the Most Blessed Sacrament are all very edifying and are bringing great benefit to many souls. We implore your eminence to support Father Rangel in this new direction for St. Mark.
I would also like to include in this letter a request for regular Traditional Latin Masses (TLM) in the north deanery of the Diocese of Dallas, most particularly in the Plano/Richardson area. At this point, St. Mark and Father Marco Rangel would appear to be the most suited for offering this ancient and beautiful form of the Mass, but St. Joseph in Richardson may also be a strong candidate.
We thank you for your continued leadership of this diocese, and for the many blessings and benefits this leadership has brought. We pray your leadership, and that of good priests like Father Rangel, will continue to bring glory to God and aid in the sanctification of all the souls in the Diocese of Dallas.
God bless and keep you,
Name
In all likelihood it will be Bishop Kelly that reads these and responds, but the message will hopefully get through to Bishop Burns.
I also implore you to send letters of support and thanks to Father Rangel at St. Mark. He can be reached at:
(Pastor) Father Marco Rangel
St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church
1105 West 15th Street
Plano, TX 75075
Another sample:
Dear Father Rangel –
Greetings in Christ! I have learned of late that you are in the process of making numerous liturgical, artistic, and catechetical improvements to St. Mark. May God reward you! This is such a happy and blessed development, and will surely bring enormous fruit to souls. I support you in your efforts to bring more reverence to the Mass and to bring St. Mark’s liturgical, artistic, and catechetical practice more in union with the great patrimony of our Holy Mother Church. I am so grateful that some of the fruit of the “reform of the reform” is beginning to blossom in Plano.
I would also like to indicate my interest in having a regular Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at St. Mark. I reside in the Diocese of Dallas/North Dallas/Collin County area and would be overjoyed to have a TLM closer to my home and/or place of business, particularly at St. Mark. If you are assessing the level of interest in this form of the Mass in the Plano area, please be assured of mine, and that of my family.
May God continue to bless and support your apostolate in every way,
Name
Father Rangel can also be reached at pastor@stmarkplano.org.
If at least 12 of you do not contact Father Rangel with support, I’ll never post again. Like that’ll be any different!
As the Vatican Descends into Chaos, Good News on the Local Front June 17, 2019
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, fightback, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Latin Mass, North Deanery, Restoration, Sacraments, sanctity, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
I am sorry for the lack of content the past many months……..there have been various reasons. I hope to shift to a different format shortly and get more content out that is less time-consuming to make, but that will have to wait.
What could not wait, in spite of the paganization of the Church emanating from the Rome of Francis the Humble, is some very good news on the local front. I reported during Lent that Father Jason Cargo, pastor of St. Joseph parish in Richardson, TX, had initiated a weekly Latin Mass according to the Rite of Paul VI on Thursdays during that penitential season. Well that Mass continued and has been made permanent. In addition, Father Cargo has substantially increased the times where the great neglected (and, by the modernists, feared and loathed) Sacrament of Confession is available: now on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturday (starting July 1). Please continue to pray for Father Cargo, he is a wonderful younger priest who is doing much to bring about the restoration of more authentic forms of Catholicism in the Diocese of Dallas.
Speaking of young priests working to restore our glorious Holy Mother Church, Father Marco Rangel has been named pastor of the huge parish of St. Mark in Plano, replacing the now retired Father Cliff Smith. Father Rangel is another young priest who is very interested in the great Tradition of our Faith and who I am certain will be a very good shepherd for St. Mark. I have lost touch with Father Rangel since he was assigned to other areas of the Diocese but when I knew him as a newly ordained priest who would wear Roman chasuble at Mass (including black for funeral Masses) and his cassock around the parish I have always been impressed. I think Father Rangel’s assignment at St. Mark means there is potential for more authentic/traditional forms of the Liturgy there, as well.
Father Smith was a good man and priest, he did a great deal to support homeschooling families in the northern Dallas suburbs, including making available a large facility for a homeschool co-op to operate out of St. Marks. He did far more than most of his contemporaries by being willing to offer, if perhaps with some reluctance, an “experimental” Novus Ordo Latin Mass at his parish for over a year. He and I disagreed on various points but he was always more patient with hard cases like me than deserved and did make a number of positive changes, such as greatly expanding St. Mark’s confession times several years ago. I pray he has a blessed and pious retirement.
All this indicates to me that Bishop Burns is either much more conservative or traditional in outlook, or that he has at least loosened the frankly unjust restraints his predecessor, the close Francis-ally Cardinal Farrell, imposed on priests of this diocese (such as refusing permission to offer Mass in Latin to ANY priest outside Mater Dei or St. William in Greenville, while admitting that restraint did not apply to any other language – pastors were and are free to start or change a Mass in Spanish to Vietnamese or Korean or Swahili or whatever language, so long as it was not the dreaded and feared Latin).
But, modernist/leftist types have always chosen to define themselves much more by what they hate and fear than by what they love. So go figure.
If you know of other good news, please let me know. I am increasingly convinced that there will be another locale offering the TLM outside the designated ghetto of Mater Dei in Irving (not a knock on Mater Dei at all, I love it, but let’s face it, that’s what it is, a place to stuff all the worst miscreants and hopefully keep us mollified) within the next few years, barring any unforeseen events (such as Francis or his replacement attempting to re-abrogate the TLM; I would not put it past them, as they sing a new totally wrecked Episcopal-lite “church” into being, the contrast offered by the TLM communities and any other islands of orthodoxy will be too much for them to bear. Plus, their hate must have an outlet). So let us all pray with ever more fervor that this be prevented from occurring, by some miracle. And let us be thankful for these positive developments and the many others that are likely occurring without our knowledge. Even though some of these situations may not be as “perfect” as we may ultimately desire, they are still very positive and should be recognized, as each step in the right direction leads more and more souls to an authentic, Christ-pleasing, traditional practice of the Faith, and most importantly in my mind significantly increases their likelihood of salvation, which after all is the point of it all.
So, more like this, please.
Please Pray For – and possibly support – the Ramirez Family May 7, 2018
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, Domestic Church, family, Four Last Things, General Catholic, Interior Life, North Deanery, sadness, thanksgiving, Virtue.comments closed
We don’t know this family – I think my wife might know the mom as a friend of a friend sort of thing – but given what we went through just a year ago with our son suddenly having a seizure and then being diagnosed with a brain tumor, it didn’t take a lot of imagination on our part to know what this family was going through as the e-mails and text messages imploring prayers started flying around Saturday afternoon and evening.
This situation involves a local family and their 10 year old daughter. Via their Youcaring site:
“Maggie was running around with her siblings just this Friday. She woke up with a bad headache Saturday (the day she was to make her First Communion) and is now on life support with a rapidly growing (inoperable) brain tumor. They’ve been told there is basically nothing doctors can do and they are still clinging to hope that God will grant them a miracle.”
That was Saturday. Then yesterday:
Yesterday at 7:31 PM we said goodbye to our beautiful Magdalene Therese. Please forgive me if this is how you are hearing the news. I called everyone I could think of but we are exhausted of mind and body. I rushed Magdalene to the hospital Saturday afternoon where we were promptly careflighted to Dallas Childrens. My darling girl had a brain tumor that was taking up much of one side of the brain. The doctors and ICU team fought for her but the tumor was growing too fast to stop. We had almost no time to prepare for her passing. This was so, so sudden.
Please know that while we are heartbroken we are not in despair. My beautiful girl was and is a testimony of the amazing love of Jesus Christ. She was not afraid to die at any point in her life and often talked about what it would be like for her. She loves Jesus with all her heart. She is now in the fullness of His presence and we completely trust and rest in the resurrection.
Our beautiful Maggie passed away surrounded by family and close friends. We sang her favorite song “How I Need You” by Matt Maher and I held her close.
Please pray for us. We so miss our darling girl. She was and is an amazing sister and friend. I’m so glad that I often told her how happy I am to be her mom and how very special she is to me.
Funeral arrangements will be posted once we have them. This is the last picture I have that she took on my phone. She is so amazing. I miss her so much already.
ETA: Official time was 7:41. I had my hand on her chest the whole time and 7:31 is when I felt her heart stop.
Oh sweet Jesus my heart aches for this family. My God we are blessed having a son diagnosed with a brain tumor after a sudden set of seizures but our outcome has so far been so very much different. God’s will be done, but that doesn’t make it easier to understand.
You might consider helping this family by prayer and any material means you have at your disposal. Obviously this was a sudden loss and there are substantial expenses that were totally unexpected. The crowdfunding site is here, and I am happy to see that it is being very generously supported. A picture of what one prays and assumes will be another Saint glorifying God forever.
May God have mercy on her soul and assuage the loss of her parents and siblings. Requiescat in Pace.
A Bit of Good News: Bishop of Tyler Learning TLM, to Assist at TLM on Corpus Christi April 26, 2018
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, episcopate, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Latin Mass, North Deanery, Restoration, the struggle for the Church, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
From a reader in Tyler, we are informed that Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas is “learning” the Traditional Latin Mass and will assist (it is believed, in choir) at a TLM to be offered by diocesan priests at the Chapel of Saints Peter and Paul on the Feast of Corpus Christi (Thursday, May 31).
It is always a happy development when a bishop indicates interest in, and appreciation for, the unadulterated, un-modernized Mass. It means that the bishop has a sense of the importance of reverence for God and recognizes the undeniable centrality of Jesus Christ, and His Sacrifice on our behalf, in the ancient form of the Mass. It also usually means that bishop is of a predominately orthodox outlook in matters beyond the liturgy, as well. It’s not a guarantee of doctrinal orthodoxy on all matters, but it’s a darn good sign.
Tyler, a remote and small diocese, most of which could easily be considered mission territory due to the paucity of Catholics (even after decades of hispanic immigration into Texas), has been blessed with some relatively orthodox bishops for years. Good on them. Perhaps one of those bishops might be promoted to head the Diocese of Dallas someday?
On that front, some well placed birdies who would know have strongly hinted there will probably be a TLM in the northern deanery of the Dallas Diocese in the not too distant future. Nothing is confirmed, yet, but there is a pastor or two who are willing and there are no impediments from the chancery, which is a big change from the previous administration.
So there is likely to be at least a weekday TLM alternative for all those folks in Collin County before too long. Don’t take that to the bank, but it’s more likely than not, from what I am told. Timing and location still TBD at this point.
Thanks to reader JB for sending in the bit about Bishop Strickland.
Some more good local news……… January 10, 2018
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, history, North Deanery, priests, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
……….a couple of bits of good local news. First, starting with the first full week of Lent, Father Jason Cargo, pastor of St. Joseph parish in Richardson, will be having Confession every weekday from 5-6pm. This will be a permanent change, not just for Lent. So in addition to Confession at St. Mark in Plano for several hours on Wed, Fri, and Sat, and most days at St. Jude in Allen (usually just a little before Mass, times vary), another parish will be having Confession every day except Sunday. Which last bit is odd, that seems to be a post-VII thing, not having Confession on Sundays (I understand many priests are overburdened with Masses, but still), whereas in the old days Confession before, during, and after Mass was de rigeuer throughout the Church. Nevertheless, for those who live and work in the North Dallas area, there are a growing number of options for Confession, and that is a most blessed thing. Father Cargo is a good priest and I look forward to seeing what other changes he brings to St. Joseph. Maybe some Latin Mass (probably Novus Ordo) at some point? It might be a possibility. Keep praying.
Again, this will start the first full week of Lent (Mon Feb 19), it is not available right now. I always prefer when Septuagesima starts after Candlemas, so there is no mixing of penitential and joyful seasons. That won’t be the case this year, but only by a few days – Septuagesima Sunday is Jan 28.
Another local note, if you are looking for some wholesome family entertainment this weekend (Jan 12/13), the St. Paul Institute is presenting Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore at Faustina Academy in Irving. Showtime is 7pm both nights. Tickets are $5 per person or $20 per family, so it’s quite a deal. The performers are children, mostly high school aged but some younger. It should be a most enjoyable performance. All details below:
A final happy item, one that is not specifically local but most edifying and Catholic, is a Youtube channel I stumbled upon called Tumblar House, which feature a weekly series of video interviews of the well known traditional Catholic writer Charles Coulombe. I’ve found these video dicussions/question and answer sessions very helpful and enjoyable, and hope you will, too. They cover a wide range of topics, including some many of those explosive issues related to traditional Catholicism – monarchism, the problems of the cult of democracy, the SSPX, Pope Francis, etc. Coulombe is both historian and semi-sociologist, and much of his knowledge is well outside the mainstream and covers topics frequently ignored by other specialists in his field. I don’t always agree with Dr. Coulombe’s conclusions or advice, but I always find it interesting and informative. It’s definitely worth a listen (I repeat, I don’t always agree with the conclusions reached or every statement made, but I do think it is all worth your time). A few of the topics I found interesting:
Anyway, you get the idea, maybe everyone was already aware of this channel, but I just found it a couple of weeks ago. Good discussion on a range of subjects outside what is normally covered even in the excellent sermons on Sensus Fidelium. Plus, they have a more conversational tone and many may find them easier to listen to than sermons by priests, or at least as an alternative or in the form of a break.
Join Father Jason Cargo on Rosary Walks in Richardson March 22, 2017
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Dallas Diocese, fun, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, North Deanery, Our Lady, priests, Restoration, sanctity, Spiritual Warfare, thanksgiving, Tradition, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
Continuing a tradition he began a year or two ago while pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Corsicana, Fr. Jason Cargo of St. Joseph parish in Richardson is conducting daily Rosary processions in public this Lent in order to evangelize and witness to our glorious Faith, in addition to rendering publicly the honor and glory rightly due to God. You have to check Father’s Facebook page for the time and location, which varies from day to day as Father seeks to witness to as much of the city as possible. Starting times and locations for this week are given below:
Thursday 3/23 at 5:30 pm (Yale Elementary School)
Friday 3/24 at 5:30 pm (Yale Elementary School)
Saturday 3/25 at 5:30 pm (Yale Elementary School)
Sunday 3/26 at 4:00 pm (Lookout Park)
Monday 3/27 at 4:30 pm (Ridgecreek Dr. and Bellview Court)
Tuesday 3/28 at 6:00 pm (Sherrill Park Golf Course)
Wednesday 3/29 at 5:30 pm (Ambleside and Pickwick)
YALE ELEMENT. is on Yale and Collins. meet at parking lot that faces Yale Park.
LOOKOUT PARK can be accessed off of Lookout Drive and Plano
Ridgecreek Dr. and Belleview Court is the intersection of two streets. Its in the neighborhood of Windmill stables off of Jupiter.
SHERRIL PARK GOLF COURSE – is accessed off of Lookout and Jupiter
Ambleside and Pickwick – can be accessed off of Renner and Owens
A nice video on the effort was put out by Texas Catholic, the diocesan media platform:
Good Father Cargo. Rockin’ the cassock and cappa romana. He is really a good priest. I pray he is well received at St. Joseph and that his apostolate reach more and more souls.
I am really sorry I did find out about this sooner, as Lent is about half gone. I suspected Father Cargo would take up this great work of mercy and faith since his reassignment to St. Joseph around Easter last year, but not being on Facebook I missed it until I saw about this on Youtube. That’s the second time today I’ve missed some big news because I’m not on Facebook. But I’m setting up a reminder to check Father’s Facebook, which I can do without rejoining, next week to help get the word out.
If you have time and live or work in the Richardson/North Dallas area, consider joining Father on one of his “walks.” They usually take about 45 minutes and cover 1 1/2 miles, praying all 15 decades of the Rosary.
I really like this kind of effort and it makes me feel rather ashamed I’ve let the prayer vigils outside strip clubs lapse. As Father Cargo says, we never know what fruit giving such public witness of our Faith will yield – not only for those on the outside, but also for ourselves. I pray that more priests take the time to do such good works. Father Cargo is pastor of a huge parish but he is still prioritizing these efforts at evangelization. May God bless him and all those who participate abundantly.
And please pray for him! Our good priests are always especially under attack, from both the world and the devil and the fallen angels. Pray Father is able to do all that good he wants to do, which is substantial. He was very generous with me in something I was trying to do at one time and I shall not forget that. Deo Gratias!
Image from Father’s Facebook, I pray he doesn’t mind.
Good Local News – Another Catholic Homeschool Co-Op Starts This Year January 16, 2017
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, Dallas Diocese, Domestic Church, family, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, North Deanery, priests, Restoration, sanctity, Society, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
A hearty thanks go out to Fr. Cliff Smith, pastor of St. Mark parish in Plano, for making this new Catholic homeschool Coop a reality. Starting next fall, St. Mark in Plano will host the area’s second Catholic homeschool cooperative for older students. Currently there is one at Mater Dei that meets on Thursdays and is intended primarily for high school students, this new one will meet on Tuesdays and be for grades 7-12. A few details below:
Several of our group members met with St. Mark the
Evangelist Catholic Church in Plano this week, and they are welcoming us to start a Catholic homeschool co-op next school year to serve students in 7th grade through high school. It has been named the Collin County Catholic Co-op (C4).We will be meeting in the Smyth Pastoral Center on Tuesdays.
The day will start with morning Mass at 8:30am and have classes following after Mass through the afternoon.
Well that is good news. As I’m sure almost any homeschooling parents can relate, as kids enter middle and high school teaching all the advanced and complex subjects can be quite taxing. Cooperatives like this help spread the burden by hiring teachers for these subjects. Without them, a mom might be faced with simultaneously teaching 10 or more high school subjects on her own – a daunting task. Coops also provide a great outlet for kids to meet other kids being raised by parents of good will.
Fr. Smith has long been very supportive of homeschoolers and deserves recognition for that. He is taking his support a step further by enabling this new co-op to use parish facilities. I’m sure there will be many local Catholics thankful for his generosity. Anything that encourages the spread and execution of homeschooling is much appreciated. I pray even more parents in the North Dallas area will embrace this wonderful way of raising children with this latest opportunity.
Dear Readers, Could You Help Local Catholics in Grave Need? – UPDATED August 23, 2016
Posted by Tantumblogo in Dallas Diocese, episcopate, General Catholic, Holy suffering, Liturgy, mortification, North Deanery, sadness, Spiritual Warfare, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
My mom, in spite being 80 herself, volunteers at the Plano Community Home-East. This is a home for elderly and disabled individuals who need affordable housing.
There is a crisis among some of the elderly there, and it is most heartbreaking. There is a group of 1o or so Catholics there who have no way to assist at Mass. They have been unable to attend Mass for months or even years, in some cases. These are people on decidedly fixed incomes who both cannot afford, and in many cases no longer have the ability, to drive a car. They have asked for help from local parishes and even the dioceses to provide transportation for them to Mass, or even look into finding souls who might help, but they have received a decidedly cold response (especially from the diocese).
Also, it seems these folks never have priests (or any others) visit them to bring the Blessed Sacrament. More than the infinite Grace of the Eucharist, however, they long to assist at Mass, any Mass, and partake in the Source and Summit of our glorious Faith again.
I am praying volunteers who live in the Plano area can be found to make arrangements with these souls to provide transportation to assist at Mass. I know bringing 10 or more souls to Mass may seem a logistical problem, but if even a few could be brought to Mass each week, over a month over a few weeks all could assist at Mass. Or maybe you have a large van that could take all at once? A further suggestion might be to see if these souls have any desire to assist at the TLM again, as they did in their youth. Many Mater Dei families live in the Plano/Allen/McKinney area – perhaps some rides could be arranged that would have minimal impact on everyone’s schedules?
The good news is that all of these people are generally ambulatory, though some need a cane or a walker. There is no need for wheelchair accessible transportation.
If there are any readers who live near the Plano area who think they could help, please contact me directly at larryr103@gmail.com. If you belong to a local Catholic e-mail list like PARCH or whatever please consider sending out a link to this post! The Plano Community Home is located at Ave L and 18th Street, so it is about 5 minutes from St. Mark or maybe 8-9 minutes from Mission of the Sacred Heart, though I imagine the elderly would feel more comfortable at the former. The desire is most especially for SUNDAY Mass, though there may be an interest for weekday Mass at some point if arrangements could be made.
If any interested parties will get in touch with me, I’ll arrange contact with those needing help at the Plano Community Home to work out arrangements. God bless you and thank you so much for your consideration. You would be helping in a spiritual and corporal work of mercy of the highest magnitude.
UPDATE: As often happens when a large number of people are involved, especially elderly people, messages sometimes get confused. Some people at the home are now claiming a priest DOES come to offer Mass weekly, while others continue to maintain that doesn’t happen. I am trying to dig through this and find out the truth. I am waiting for clarification from site staff/management. However, it seems that even if there is a Mass offered there, some of the elderly are deeply dissatisfied with it, for what are probably the usual reasons. There may be some interest in the TLM. Stay tuned, I’ll get back with more details next week, God willing.
REMINDER: Courage Apostolate Dinner at St. Joseph in Richardson Aug 11@6:30p August 9, 2016
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, catachesis, Dallas Diocese, episcopate, family, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Holy suffering, North Deanery, paganism, scandals, sexual depravity, Society, true leadership, Virtue.comments closed
A quick reminder, the only Vatican-approved, and essentially Catholic, apostolate for serving those suffering from same-sex attraction and their families – Courage – will be giving a talk at St. Joseph parish in Richardon on Thursday, Aug. 11 at 6:30 pm (buffet dinner – talk starts at 7:15). The speaker is Fr. Philip Bochanski, associate director of Courage International.
The title of the talk is “Welcoming and Accompanying Our Brothers and Sisters Who Experience Same Sex Attraction: Living Our Our Universal Call to Chastity and Speaking Truth in Love.”
The event will be held in the main dining hall. Enter the “Columbarium Entrance” that faces Spring Valley Road.
If you want to attend the dinner portion, reservations are required. Contact joannmurray@verizon.net. $7 for dinner and you may pay at the door.
I am so happy to see this event take place. After the recent scandal of the episcopal endorsement of the extremely problematic (and that is being kind) “Always Our Children” pro-gay lobby advocacy groups as the preferred “ministry” for those suffering from SSA in this diocese, as announced at a recent conclave of diocesan priests, it is absolutely vital to have the Church’s true message on these subjects presented in charity. That truth is simply part of the constant belief and practice of the Faith, going back to the earliest days of the Church, when St. Paul castigated the decadent, amoral behavior of so many in the collapsing Greco-Roman civilization around him.
Same sex attraction is disordered, but not necessarily sinful, while the acts associated with this inclination always and everywhere are gravely sinful. “Always Our Children” tries desperately to pretend this is not so, even to the point of throwing out from its group meetings those who advocate for the constant belief and practice of the Faith. “Always Our Children,” then, is in actuality an insurgent group inside the Church dedicated to the overthrow of Christ’s Truth and its replacement with the errors of the world, the flesh, and the devil. They aim, more or less, to turn the Church into a lightly religiously themed agent of the sexular pagan revolution. They must fail, of course, but the damage wrought on souls in the effort has been, and will continue to be, incalculable.
Courage Apostolate Event at St. Joseph Aug 11 June 20, 2016
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, catachesis, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Glory, Grace, Interior Life, North Deanery, persecution, scandals, secularism, self-serving, sexual depravity, Society, the struggle for the Church, Virtue.comments closed
A couple of weeks ago I shared with readers the very distressing fact that the frequently heretical, pro-sodomite propaganda group “Always Our Children” had received a strong endorsement from Bishop Kevin Farrell at the most recent conclave of priests, and was thus spreading throughout, at least, the northern part of the Diocese. I also related that the only faithful apostolate specifically tailored to serve those who struggle with same-sex attraction – COURAGE – had been largely sidelined and ignored in the Diocese.
Since that time, I have learned that a Catholic woman, mother of a family well known in the Diocese for its piety and devotion, had attended an Always Our Children meeting and was told to leave – thrown out, if you will – for the “sin” of having the temerity to suggest that the group might also, in contrast to their general acceptance of pro-sodomite rhetoric, mix in a little bit of Catholic Doctrine on the subject from time to time. This, alas, was apparently too much for a group which has taken to casting about for ways to justify gravely disordered and mortally sinful behavior, either on the part of themselves, or their loved ones, and so she was gone. I can add, without saying too much, that this woman is not the kind who would let zeal get the better of them and charge into a meeting saying harsh or uncharitable things.
I am happy to report, however, that there has recently been a more positive development on this subject, in that St. Joseph’s parish in Richardson has invited Fr. Philip Bochanski, associate director of Courage, to give a talk at his parish on Thursday, Aug. 11 2016. All details below:
If you are searching for the truly loving, Christian response in interactions with friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers who are same sex attracted, or if your children and grandchildren are coming to you with questions about such issues and you have struggled for the right answers, then come! “Courage International” is the Vatican approved Catholic apostolate ministering to our same sex attracted individuals. Come benefit from Fr. Bochanski’s great insight and wisdom. Please forward this information to anyone you think may be interested and could benefit from solid answers to some of today’s most difficult questions.
Inspiring Speaker Event
Thursday Evening, August 11, 2016
“Welcoming and Accompanying Our Brothers and Sisters Who Experience Same Sex Attraction:
Living Out Our Universal Call to Chastity and Speaking Truth in Love”
A timely topic to give us information and guidance in difficult situations facing our families, friends, neighbors, schools, workplaces, and co-workers
Presented by
Fr. Philip Bochanski
Associate Director of Courage International
Location: St. Joseph Catholic Church in Richardson
Main Dining Hall
600 South Jupiter Road; Enter the “Columbarium Entrance” that faces Spring Valley Road
Buffet Dinner begins at 6:30pm; Speaker starts at 7:15pm
Please rsvp to joannmurray@verizon.net so that we may prepare the proper number of seats and dinners.
$7 for dinner — you may pay at the door; Speaker only is gratis.
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I will try to post reminders closer to the date of the event. I hope I can find the time to attend, though it would mean missing Mass <sniff> <sniffle>.
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