I don't have a Lenten picture of the church, so this will have to do.
One of the first things that Fr. Zendejas did when he became pastor of Queen of Angels was to remove the crucifix from a fixed position on the wall above the altar. He had it suspended by two chains high above the sanctuary, near the altar rail. This was a first but necessary step in a long-term renovation. However, it caused quite a bit of tension last Friday when it came time to take off the purple fabric that covers it from Passion Sunday to Good Friday.
A cord or strip of fabric dangled into the sanctuary from the covering above. When the time came in the liturgy for Father to remove it, he gently pulled the cord. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still, the covering clung. He changed positions and pulled harder. The crucifix lurched. I could feel the tension in the lady to my left, who was now sitting bolt upright as the purple-covered crucifix moved in the air. Undaunted, Father jerked the cord. The fabric fell away revealing our bloodied Savior swinging wildly from the rafters. I gasped. The traumatized lady next to me whispered. . .
Anyone who wants to go to Mass at Queen of Angels in Dickinson, TX, this Palm Sunday should note that there will be Solemn Blessing of the Palms and a procession at 8:30 a.m., and High Mass will begin early, approximately 9:40. The Low Mass is as usual, 7:30 a.m.
N.B. Emma and I drank raw milk for breakfast and lunch and ate a regular meal for supper for three days before we started the milk fast on March 1. We each lost two pounds during this trial run.
DAY 1, Thursday, March 1
I sailed through this day. I drank a quart in the morning and a quart in the afternoon. Any minor hunger pangs went away with just a little milk. I am weaning myself off coffee by adding a little bit more raw cream every day. Other than a cup of coffee, I had nothing but milk. I got sleepy earlier than usual and was in bed by 9:45. I slept well. I could easily drink more milk, but then I wouldn't feel like I was mortifying my body at all, so I am trying to keep my consumption at a level where I am just below satiated. Besides, this milk fast is easier for me than the traditional Lenten fast of one full meal, two snacks.
Emma was not feeling well all day because of the beginning of her cycle and only drank a half a quart of milk. She did have some kombucha also.
DAY 2, Friday, March 2
I felt great when I got up. I thought my face looked less blotchy but wasn't sure. Then later Emma commented that my skin tone looked more even. I drank a quart of milk during the morning and a half a quart during the afternoon. Then Emma and I left for church to go to stations of the cross and the First Friday holy hour of reparation and mass. We took our milk with us to finish after church. On the drive down there, which takes about an hour, I was talking to Emma and suddenly could not speak without mixing up my words. I can't remember exactly, but I think I was switching the first letters of the words in the sentence. I was very aware of it and could not stop it. It lasted a few minutes. I noticed Emma had dark circles under her eyes. I don't know if this is because she didn't get enough to eat the day before and slept poorly or if it is an allergic reaction. She felt better today but still had queasiness off and on. We got through all the kneeling and standing up again of the stations fine, but while I was kneeling during the holy hour of reparation, I started to feel queasy myself, and my head felt odd--I guess kind of light. It was hot in the church. I sat down on the pew for a while and felt better, but I decided not to stay for mass. When I went outside I had a strong craving for really cold water. I didn't have any, and I didn't feel like going to get any, so I went to the car and waited for Emma. I didn't want my now-warm milk, but I made myself drink it. I felt better.
Emma spent 20 minutes socializing after church and seemed to be feeling good. On the way home she told me that she is having a hard time drinking the milk without food. She can guzzle it down when she is eating. By the time we got home she was feeling queasy again.
I was in bed by 10 and slept well. I think Emma stayed up late and watched a movie.
DAY 3, Saturday, March 3
I woke up with a headache. I am still trying to get off the coffee, but my heart is not really in it. I love sipping hot coffee and having my quiet time in the mornings. I have cut back to one cup, and I have given up having the coffeemaker come on automatically in the morning before I wake. It is the enjoyment of it that is my addiction at this point, not the caffeine. I always look forward to getting out of bed in the morning because the coffee is waiting! "This is the day the Lord has made! Let us get up and have a cup of coffee." Ugh! I don't like that in myself. So for the last few days I have been making it when I get up, hoping that having to wait will help me strengthen my discipline and break my attachment. There are so many truly wonderful reasons to get up in the morning. Coffee seems ridiculous in comparison.
I made eggs and toast for my husband. I sipped milk while he ate. It didn't bother me at all. I had a headache all day but felt fine otherwise. I worked in three quarts of water to help get the toxins out of my body in case that was why I had the headache. I took a long, hot shower. Afterward, I noticed that the skin on my legs and feet did not have the mosaic look they usually have from being so dry. I was sitting next to Emma during the rosary, and she remarked that the blackheads on my nose had disappeared. I guess I need new glasses! I wasn't even aware that I had any. I fried a huge batch of grassed beef cutlets and cooked some corn and green beans for Nathaniel and Herb. I wasn't in the least tempted to try them. So I do think this milk fast is helping to break my attachment to food. I am hoping that by the end, my mind will be clearer and I will be able to practice contemplative prayer without getting distracted.
Emma slept late today and yesterday. She still has dark circles under her eyes, but she noticed that her blemishes are healing faster and that two dark, rough spots she has had on her knees are becoming lighter. Worried about the dark circles, I asked her if she wanted to switch to bone broth, but she said, "no".
Day 4, Sunday, March 4
Emma has lost 3 pounds.
I have lost 2.5.
I had a terrible night. That last quart of water I drank at about 9 p.m. the night before demanded to be released around 2 a.m. I still had the headache and was awake a lot during the night. I got up around 6 and made coffee. I decided to cut back some on the raw cream to see if caffeine withdrawal was why I had the headache. It must have been, because the headache began going away pretty quickly, and I have been headache-free since then. I guess I was weaning too fast. I am not going to worry about it. I have cut back on caffeine consumption pretty drastically since Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, when I gave up iced tea. I was drinking it all day long and found it hard to drink water.
When I was getting ready for church, I noticed that hardly any hair came out in my wide-tooth comb. I have always lost a lot of hair and have to constantly pick it off my shoulders and back during the day. I asked Emma to look at my back and see if she saw hair. She saw one or two. If this keeps up, it will be a major breakthrough for me. I hate having to clean up hair in the bathroom and to always be worrying about shedding hair on my clothes.
I drank a half a quart of milk before we left for church.
Emma, Nathaniel, and I had a great discussion on the drive to church. It started when I suggested that maybe the reason the government makes it so hard to have access to raw milk is because it already knows what we are learning by this fast: a person can live on it alone and be healthy and happy. Healthy, happy citizens might rise up and rebel. The government does not like this. It's better to force the citizens to eat de-natured food that makes them sick and depressed and has the added benefit of enriching factory food corporations and Big Pharma, who in turn make giant donations/kickbacks to the politicians. Emma agreed, saying that all you need to be self sufficient is access to grass and a cow. Nathaniel suggested that the ideal would be to have that and live back in a swamp in Louisiana. He's been watching a lot of episodes of Swamp People, a show about Louisiana gator hunters, and just loving it. Not surprisingly, one of his all-time favorite songs is "Louisiana Saturday Night".
After mass, Nathaniel went home with Herb, and Emma and I stayed for a couple of hours visiting with friends. Fr. Zendejas has added a fountain to Queen of Angels' side "yard" and has installed long metal benches around it, so Emma and her friends gathered there. I noticed Fr. smiled really big when he drove by and saw them, chattering away on a bench. It was about 1:30 when we finally got in the car and drank some milk that I had brought along in a cooler. I was just starting to get hungry. I noticed that the milk made me feel a little queasy. I mentioned it to Emma, and she said it was happening to her too if she drank too much at once. When we got home, Emma took a long nap. I usually take one every Sunday afternoon, but this Sunday I lay on the couch and was wide awake, so I finally got up. I wasn't in the least bit hungry, though I had consumed less than a quart of milk by 4 p.m. Nathaniel set up a target in the yard and shot his bow. Later in the evening, he insisted that I watch "Swamp People", so I curled up on the couch with him and was thoroughly entertained. Emma joined us for the last twenty minutes or so. We tried to watch the The Pearl Fishers opera after that, but it was not a good version, and we switched to The Last Station, a movie about the fiery relationship between Leo Tolstoy and his wife near the end of his life. It was really good. We knew it had some sex/naked parts in it, so Emma had the remote ready to skip over them. Unfortunately, when the first problematic part began, Nathaniel and I squirmed for five seconds before we realized that Emma had been distracted by a text message. I got flustered, but Nathaniel had the presence of mind to call, "EM-MA!" to get her attention back to the screen and her censorship duties. It was pretty funny. I drank a quart of water during the movie. Nathaniel and I went to bed at ten, but Emma was hungry and stayed up to drink some more milk.
A little background on the extremely limited availability of the Tridentine Mass in Houston:
It's been four years since Pope Benedict promulgated Summorum Pontificum. It's been eight years since Fr. Stephen Zigrang unsuccessfully tried to get permission from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston for a Tridentine Mass parish. Read about it here.
To take up where the article leaves off, the Society of St. Pius X took Fr. Zigrang in. He has served at Queen of Angels in Dickinson, TX, ever since.
My husband took this picture for me last Sunday after mass, and I have eagerly been awaiting the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary to share it with you.
The rosary was made of rosebuds by my husband's schola buddy, Mickey Rios. He is gifted that way. He buys and arranges the flowers for the altar every week. I was lucky enough to be sitting close to the front of the church where I could admire it. The red of the roses against the white marble stood out like drops of blood on new-fallen snow.
"As a moral pillar of UTMB, Dr. Hannigan was crucial in keeping abortion out of UTMB. He stood firm during accreditation review procedures when questioned about UTMB not offering abortion or abortion-related services on its premises. He also shaped the convictions of countless medical students so that they, too, would adopt only life-affirming medical practices."
I did not know Dr. Hannigan, but he was a fellow parishioner of Queen of Angels. I was very impressed by what I read in the Texas Right to Life article linked above. He received Last Rites from Fr. Zendejas shortly before he died on Tuesday and was buried in a Carmelite habit at Mount Olivet Cemetery yesterday afternoon. His obituary is here.
This week Nathaniel and Emma are filling out their passport applications so that they can go on a pilgrimage to Rome with the Jam Session. They fly out of Newark on June 28 and return July 10. They will also visit Siena and Assisi. I don't know yet what they will be singing.
Nathaniel and Emma's first experience with the Jam Session was the most recent one, Jam Session V, in Syracuse, NY, singing Josquin des Prez' beautiful Missa Pange Lingua. In the Jam V group photo above, Nathaniel is in the front left wearing a leather jacket, and Emma is one row behind Fr. Stanich, just to the right of him.
Here is a history of the Jams taken from the New Year's Eve fundraiser concert program. (The concert was performed by the Jam Session Chamber Ensemble):
In 2004, Father Stephen Stanich was transferred from St. Louis, Missouri, to Dickinson, Texas. In December 2007 he invited four singers from his former parish to join a few of his new parishioners in rehearsing and performing a polyphonic Mass--in this case, the Missa Brevis by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
This Jam Session, as we called it, was such a success that the following August it was repeated in St. Louis, this time with the Missa: O Magnum Mysterium of Tomas Luis de Victoria. In December 2008, Dickinson hosted Jam Session III, singing William Byrd's Mass for Four Voices; Jam Session IV took us to the high hills of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with Victoria's Missa Quarti Toni. This fourth Jam Session suddenly doubled the choir in size, from the original sixteen (with a few additions over the other two Jams) to a staggering thirty. One of the founding members is about to receive the habit in a Dominican convent in New Zealand; some are married and have relinquished the Jam in favor of their families; but the new singers have stepped up boldly and we sing on. New friendships have been made over the Jams; old ones are strengthened every time; together we sing God's praise--praying twice, as St. Augustine would say; and, in the words of another great saint, Ignatius of Loyola, we "laugh and grow strong" in the Faith.
Fr. Zendejas told the choir tonight that there will be a wake for Augustine Strong, son of Greg and Sylina Strong. It will held in the church Friday, Feb. 5, and will begin at approximately 8 p.m., following the 7 p.m. Mass of the Sacred Heart.
Fr. said that a Votive High Mass of the Angels will be said at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 6. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. There will be no reception.
Crowder Funeral Home of Dickinson, TX, is handling arrangements.
Our friend Mickey asked Nathaniel to take the pictures above last Sunday after Mass. Mickey, Nathaniel, and Herb usually put the Nativity scene together, and Mickey likes to get some pictures of the final product each year.
The other decorations in the church are gradually coming down. There was greenery that framed the side altars, and the window decorations and wreaths are gone too.Roses have replaced the poinsettias on the altar. Everything is quietly calming down as the Christmas season nears Candlemas.
I'm glad to have pictures from the choir loft showing the finished floor. It wasn't quite done when I posted Beauty Underfoot.
On the Saturday before Christmas, I got to see Mr. Mark Bryan finishing the installation of the new marble floor in the sanctuary and Lady chapel of our church.
He had waited about 32 years to do it, having helped install in 1977 the set of 3 matching marble altars, communion rail, and Stations of the Cross that had been purchased at auction from St. Joseph's Hospital in Kansas City, MO. So getting to do the floor at last is a dream come true for him.
Fr. Zendejas planned a children's Christmas party for the Sunday before Christmas. It required stuffing several huge pinatas with treats. The day before the party, I drove Angela, Michelle, and Emma to the store where they embarked on a dream shopping trip to purchase the candy, filling a shopping cart to the brim and inspiring wonder in all the other shoppers.
I have always heard that sugar makes children hyper. I assumed that they had to eat it. Apparently this is not so, because Angela, Michelle, and Emma never opened a wrapper, yet they acted as if they had consumed the whole cartload before they ever reached the checkout.
Returning to the church hall to stuff the pinatas, their exuberance culminated in their scooping up a mound of candy and throwing it into the air, laughing hysterically as it rained down upon them. Then they cleaned it up.
In the spirit of old Mexico, our parish will remember Our Lady of Guadalupe tomorrow with public recognition of our devotion.
Fr. Zendejas has been out of town and did not have time to confirm plans in time for last Sundays' bulletin. So, TENTATIVELY, according to reliable sources who have talked to Fr., here is the plan:
After Mass at 8 a.m., parishioners will drive in procession behind a statue of Our Lady to two different Mexican restaurants that will have erected Guadalupe altars. My sources have heard that it will be Garcia's and Frontera's, but this is not confirmed. Fr. Zendejas will bless the altars, then we will return to the parish hall for games, a potluck feast, Mexican dancing, and live Mariachi band music. Festivities will end by 2 p.m.
Emma and I visited Rudy yesterday afternoon. It was the first time that we had gotten to see him. I was immensely reassured by how good he looked. Underneath all the tubes and wires, he still looked like the Rudy Reyes I know and love.
Since he is such a good-natured fellow, I took the opportunity to chat non-stop in his ear and tease him about the little round thing on his head. I told him that he looked like he was wearing a little girl's chapel veil. I really thought his eyes might fly open at that remark, but they didn't. However, when Rudy's buddy, Mike Stafford, talked to him, his eyelids did lift partially, two times. Mike saw it both times. Christian saw it once. Mike said that before Rudy's stroke, he and Rudy talked on the phone all the time.
I asked Christian about Rudy's breathing, the pressure on his brain, etc. He told me that Rudy is breathing on his own, but if the ventilator is removed, he may choke on his tongue. The pressure on his brain is normal. Later Margot confirmed that "Rudy is breathing 100% on his own." She also said that Thursday Rudy responded when the doctor shined a light in his eyes. This was new. He had not responded before, so he is improving.
In fact, all his vital signs are good from what we could read on the monitors, but when Margot asked the nurse for the results that she was writing in his record, the nurse refused to tell her. Obtaining the record of these vital signs is critical to preventing the hospital from removing Rudy from life support.
Although the rules state that only two visitors can see Rudy at one time, somehow a kind nurse managed to let seven of us in to pray the Rosary. We all knelt around his bed. Margot squeezed Rudy's hand throughout. We sang the Gloria Patri at the end of each decade, and I could not resist looking at Rudy's face as we did. I knew he could hear us!
I started to understand the magnitude of the problem that Margot is dealing with when Miriam Massie arrived to help Margot with legal steps to prevent the hospital from removing life support and giving Rudy morphine. Miriam's dad is an attorney, and he had written letters for Margot to submit to the ethics committee declaring her desire that Rudy not be removed from life support or given morphine or any "treatment" that would hasten his death. Apparently Texas law allows hospital ethics committees to decide the fate of a patient, even if he has expressed the desire for a different choice. Once the ethics committee makes a decision to withdraw treatment, and food and water are defined as treatment, the patient has only ten days to find an alternative hospital or care situation. Texas Right to Life says that patients often run out of time before they can secure the transfer. Memorial Hermann is trying to do this without giving Rudy the benefit of the ten days. At least that is my understanding. It is all very complicated. Miriam was also working with Margot to get a case manager assigned to Rudy. The case manager works as a liaison between the attorney and the ethics committee.
Christian looked much better yesterday than we visited him on Tuesday. He has not left the hospital since arriving Sunday night. He told us that he has made lots of friends among the staff. One of the nurses gave him a bag of homegrown fruit while we were there.
The whole Queen of Angels parish seems to be working together to help the family. It is very gratifying. Kathleen O'Neill is coordinating it all. Heather Martinez is working on getting a bank account set up for donations and a fundraiser organized. So I will get that information out as soon as I get it.
Thanks for your continued prayers for Rudy and his family.
Fr. Peek passed away Monday morning, Sept. 7, at the Queen of Angels rectory. I do not know the cause of death, but he was not in good health and had been on dialysis three times a week.
At Queen of Angels Catholic Church, 4100 Hwy. 3, Dickinson, TX
Visitation: Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, from 5-9 p.m., with a Rosary at 6:00 p.m.
Please pray for Fr. John Peek's soul. He passed away last night. I just heard and don't have any other details.
Please also pray for our dear friend and fellow parishioner, Rudy Reyes, who had a massive stroke last night and is hospitalized.
And pray for Fr. Zendejas who was up all night last night and has a Requiem Mass to say this morning for Dr. Carl Fuchs, who passed away on Thursday, Sept. 3.
Fr. Gregory Post celebrated his last Mass at Queen of Angels yesterday and his 37th anniversary as a priest on Friday. He holds the distinction of being the first American priest ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre. Fr. Post treasures the two personal letters he has in his files from the archbishop.
Knowing our parish well after 17 years, Fr. Post chose the subject of confession for his last homily. After Mass, he gave us his blessing with a plenary indulgence. Fr. Zendejas went over the steps we needed to follow to be able to fulfill the required conditions.
We celebrated Fr. Post's contributions to our parish with a pot-luck luncheon in the hall. The choir sang a collection of songs that helped express the parish's affection for him. One of these was New York, New York. They emphasized the line, "If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere!".
A young man from our parish has volunteered to drive Fr. Post to Syracuse in the moving truck. They will set off tomorrow, and Fr. N'dong Ondo will arrive in Dickinson to replace Fr. Post on Thursday.
Queen of Angels parishioners exhausted themselves yesterday, celebrating the parish feast day with a special Mass, Rosary procession, barbecue cookoff, chess tournament, and going away party for Fr. Stanich. As if that were not enough, Fr. squeezed in a baptism between the end of the procession and lunch.
The choir presented him with a 1962 Liber Usualis in perfect unused condition, right down to the satin ribbons. They included a brand new decorative leather cover for it. Fr.'s old Liber was falling apart.
For Mass, we followed the propers for the Feast of Our Lady Queen of Angels from the Franciscan missal.
After Mass we prayed all fifteen decades of the Rosary as we processed about 1 1/2 miles around Dickinson. It was wonderful to see people in the neighborhood stop what they were doing to look and listen, but I'm sure we made even more of an impact as we walked along busy Hwy. 3. We sang Marian hymns as well, finishing with the "Salve Regina."
Herb and I couldn't stay to eat barbecue, but we came back near the end of the party so that we could say goodbye to Fr. Stanich. I told him that it was too bad I couldn't hug him, because that was what I really wanted to do.
He said, "Are you older than me?"
I said, "Yes, I'm 49,"
"It's OK, then."
Wasn't that sweet of him? I've never seen him get hugged by anyone else.
So I hugged him and patted him and thanked him and wished him well. He'll never know how much it meant to me.
Pictures: I was having one of my frequent "bad photography" days. Click to enlarge, it may help.
THE ROSARY PROCESSION
THE BARBECUE COOKOFF/GOING AWAY PARTY FOR FR. STANICH
The scene before Mass. See the camper in the background? The cooks stayed up all night.
Mrs. Beverly Mclawchlin surveys the damage after everyone has been through the line.
Fr. announces the winners of the different barbecue categories to enthusiastic applause.
If you click on this picture, you may be able to make out some of the photos highlighting Fr. Stanich's five years in Dickinson.
Angela and Michelle, Queen of Angels Academy students, visit with Fr. Stanich.
AND THE CHESS TOURNAMENT
We have a lot of handsome young men in our parish.
This Sunday, Aug. 2, our parish feast day, is Fr. Stanich's last Sunday at Queen of Angels. We will have a rosary procession after Mass to honor our patroness and for the intentions of the SSPX rosary crusade. Then we will celebrate our parish feast day with a barbecue cookoff and chess tournament. It is the last in a series of ideas that Fr. Stanich has implemented to build unity in our parish and to teach us how to celebrate as Catholics.
Fr. Stanich also worked tirelessly to improve the parish academy, adding eleventh grade this fall. He got the students involved in volleyball and soccer tournaments.
Then he organized a multi-state youth choir that practices individually, then meets at one parish to practice together and sing a special high Mass. I have heard that this will continue after Father leaves and that some Syracuse youth will join.
We did not have a schola before Fr. Stanich came, and if he did not institute one other improvement, training and developing the schola would have been enough. Even as Father prepares to leave, the schola has been enriched by new, young voices.
What a legacy Fr. Stanich leaves us!
I was discussing this with another parishioner yesterday, and she believes that Fr. Stanich has laid a foundation for our parish that has prepared us to really grow spiritually, and that is why we are going to benefit so much from Fr. Zendejas's pastorage, who comes to us from the SSPX's Ridgefield, CT, retreat center. I agree with her. I like to consider how the gifts of individual priests are used by our Lord for our benefit. Although I hate to lose them when they are transferred, I see the benefit for the parish as a whole, if we can hold on to what we have learned and graciously receive what the new priest brings. May that be so.
