et alia

8 JULY 2011. The long absence of a functioning computer is over and A.S. is back on the air, so to speak. Word to the wise for parents out there, if your home computer suddenly stops working, and you have young children, make sure your young ones have not broken the on/off switch in the off position. I am just saying; it happens.

Running on at the keyboard:

My wife and I went to New Orleans for our tenth wedding anniversary. The crescent city is a hot place in June. I mean that literally: over a few days I do not think the mercury dropped below 89° F, even in th dead of night. The Archdiocese, however, believes in keeping the Basilica Cathedral like an ice box. We went to mass on Sunday morning at the Cathedral and then across Jackson Square to Café du Monde for coffee and beignets. A real treat!

The celebrant for the mass we attended was Auxiliary Bishop Fabre on Trinity Sunday. Bishop Fabre gave a tremendous homily that very eloquently described the interior life of God in the Holy Spirit and the relational nature of God - one to himself - and one to humanity.

Please pray for Father (once) John Corapi. Whatever peril his soul may be in is, indeed, a peril that could visit any of us.

The dog days of summer are certainly upon us, and it is this time of year in the Church calendar that I probably treasure the most. In a way, we are in the desert of the calendar, with a long many weeks of Ordinary Time ahead of us until the eventual coming of Advent. In this desert we have the opportunity to seek ever greater spiritual nourishment from the Church by perseverance.

I continue to pray for the health of our bishop emeritus, John Ricard, and ask that you pray for him as well. I understand he has settled in at the St. Joseph's Seminary in Washington D.C.

I am a lawyer and I live in Florida, so the recent question du jour has been "What do you think of the Casey Anthony verdict?" My prayers go out to all the victims of the case. Certainly first and foremost to the poor child who obviously suffered and died at the hands of another. I pray for her soul and that she is at rest with our Lord. I pray too for all the other victims of the entire ordeal. Certainly that family has been traumatized and injured in a way that time will not heal. I pray that the Holy Spirit will give them the grace to preserve and ultimately be healed. I pray too for Casey Anthony, may our Lord have mercy on her for her sins, no matter how heinous they may be. We are all sinners and in need of Christ's salvation, and the mercy of our God.

My prayers also go out to our Holy Father as he begins his summer period of rest at Castel Gandolfo. I pray that his time away from the Vatican will be restful and spiritually renewing. I also wish him well in his efforts on the third installment of his work on Jesus Christ. The Church is truly blessed and privileged by his pontificate.

Speaking of the Holy Father, did you see the pictures of him tweeting? How cool is that!

(I bet no one will break his on/off button!)

Today is the feast day of Blessed Adrian Fortescue. Blessed Adrian pray for us!

Please pray for me; I will pray for you.