I found a parish not too far away called... St. Michael's! ( http://saint-michael.org/ ) They offer mass in the morning as well as adoration until in the evening....
As I was looking through the website, I saw an article that made me think:
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There are unrecognized millions who are alienated from our Catholic family. They are a gaping wound in the Body of Christ - a hemorrhage of anger, frustration, pain and rejection. Historically the people of the Church have placed little emphasis on ministering to those who don’t feel welcome at our Church doors or at the table of Eucharist. Judgments are rendered about their lack of faith, their lack of zeal, their having made the wrong choices...always something wrong with them. They often experience resentment at Christmas and Easter liturgies when they are publicly resented and chastised for "crowding" the pews, making it uncomfortable for the more deserving - those who show up every Sunday.
The "seekers," however, are usually very good faith-filled people, often confused by the Church’s effort to control their choices and their lives. Seekers are looking for a spiritual home which will welcome them and offer an opportunity for them to reclaim their belovedness in the heart of God, to sort out issues of confusion, guilt and shame, and to strive towards even more goodness in their lives while being in harmony with God and Church. An alive Church community more and more has to be a home where people not only can bring their burdens but where they can also sort them out, finding acceptance and encouragement to continue on the journey. Church must offer hope to people torn apart by heartache, loss, indifference, and despair. Many seekers need an opportunity to understand and forgive the Church for many of them have been deeply hurt by the Church. The Church needs to be humble enough to ask to be forgiven for its shortcomings and brokenness."It made me think of all the times I have made comments about those "Christmas and Easter" Catholics who make it hard to go to mass on those days. Maybe that is part of the reason why they are, in fact, "Christmas and Easter" Catholics? Instead of grumbling about having to get to the church so earlier with all the children, and listening to their grumbling, it would be better to pray for all these people that their hearts be touched and they become weekly Catholics...
I had an experience once when I worked at IBM. I went to mass at St. Ambrose during my lunch hour. While I was waiting for mass to start, three SUNY students came in and sat in front of me. They were what you would call, Goths. Extreme Goths. Clothes, makeup, the whole nine yards. I felt my blood pressure going up that these kids could be so disrespectful... and then a thought hit me. These three kids were at mass at noon on a sunny Wednesday, and they were prayerful and respectful... They had faith, they just looked funny. It was a very humbling and eye opening experience for me.
I am going to make a brief excursion into politics here... Up until this point, I have been very, very against the mosque that is proposed for near Ground Zero. I am a firefighter, my brothers died there. And yet, I am starting to feel a tug away from that position. Islam is intolerant, it preaches spreading the faith at the point of a sword. Unless we want to become like them in their beliefs, we have to accept that they have a right to build there. I still think it is wrong, I think if they truly respect the beliefs of others, they should build it elsewhere... But if they will not budge from their position, they have the right. Instead of feeling anger and even violence towards them, we should pray for them, for their conversion.
What do you think? I am still a raving, right wing nut case, I am just trying very hard to be a thinking, raving, right wing nut case.
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