Pope-pourri

Getaway Day

The final day of Pope Francis's visit to Philadelphia (and the United States) will be hectic.

In the morning, Francis visited St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and met with bishops who are attending the World Meeting of Families 2015.

The meeting was held in St. Martin's Chapel on the seminary campus.







After a day spent visiting various locales in the area, Francis will celebrate a Mass open to the public (and viewable online) in the afternoon on the grounds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as part of the World Meeting of Families 2015.

The progressive spin on Francis's remarks has been something to behold, as has been
the left's indifference to anything he has said that does not sit will with the regnant progressive orthodoxy. Plus ça change...

Francis will depart for Rome this evening on a chartered American Airlines Boeing 777-200, departing from Philadelphia International Airport at approximately 7:00 PM my time (CDT)...

Travel safely, Holiness. God bless you.

"I know you're disappointed you couldn't go. It won't be your last opportunity, though."

I hope you're right...

Football Nut

Now that fall has officially arrived, the lives of millions of Americans revolve around football. High schools play mostly on Fridays, colleges play mostly on Saturdays, and the pros play mostly on Sundays (with weekly specials on Thursday and Monday; my beloved Kansas City Chiefs last played a week ago Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and won't play again until tomorrow night in Green Bay at Lambeau Field). We are a nation of football nuts (and those who tolerate football nuts), and we organize things to accommodate this schedule.

One of my favorite pictures of President Ronald Reagan shows him getting ready to throw a pass from the doorway of Air Force One (the plane which we saw inside the Reagan Library during the second Republican Presidential Debate). I'll bet he could throw a tight spiral, too...

"Go deep, Mr. Gorbachev!"

There is even an exhibit at the Reagan Library right now celebrating his love for football.

If At First You Don't Succeed...Apply More Power

From the delightful comic strip FoxTrot, by Bill Amend, which you should read every Sunday, as I do.

Until Next Time... 

One of the things I enjoyed the most about my years teaching at Bishop LeBlond Memorial High School in St. Joseph, Missouri (1995-2004) was the all-school masses. 

It was truly a joy to celebrate the Eucharist with my students and faculty colleagues. 

I also enjoyed the hymns sung by the student choir. Because our school's mascot was the Golden Eagle, the song "On Eagle's Wings" by Fr. Michael Joncas was very popular. 

It was also one of my mom's favorites, and was sung at her funeral Mass. I was put in mind of this again just this morning, as we sang "On Eagle's Wings" at the 8:00 Mass at St. Peter's.

Today's send-off is a high school choir performing the song splendidly. Enjoy...