Getting Around to It Eventually

I finally made it down to the Missionaries of Charity! It has been so long (much to my embarassment) since I've been down to volunteer. The summer camp I attempted to help with last week was no longer elusive. The weather cooled off dramatically, I knew where I was going, and cloudy skies hung overhead. All the kids were absolutely adorable and of course the MC Sisters just glowed with the joy of Jesus!

I couldn't stay the entire day, and excused myself after lunch to attend a meeting I had with a local parish priest. During my bike ride back I felt a lift in my soul. Too often I count "volunteering" and "doing service" as helping at Mass and those tasks I have to perform for my job. Anyone who works for the Catholic Church falls into this at some point. Regardless, helping out at Mass or working for the Church is no substitute for going that extra mile and getting out in direct service of someone's basic needs, taking care of a child, spending time with the elderly, serving Christ in the poorest of the poor. Living the Christian life involves this basic love. In order to be as sucessful as possible and lead the faithful more adequately at Mass in music, I must take that time to serve in this basic but often neglected area of spirituality.

I finally learned some interesting news about the new translation of the Mass working through all different levels of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops have met in San Antonio recently and NONE of the numerous translations for various kinds of Masses have been approved, a two-thirds majority being required before they are sent to the Vatican. I had no idea this kind of process was required or even going on. I figured it was a done deal. "The Mass in Thanksgiving for the Gift of Human Life", however, has been approved. Raymond Arroyo speaks more about it in an entry of his blog Seen and Unseen, on the EWTN website. He also talks about the continuing Notre Dame scandal.