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Assent to Counter Dissent – The Day the M̶̷̲̅ᴜ̶̷̲̅s̶̷̲̅ɪ̶̷̲̅ᴄ̶̷̲̅ Parish Died
It’s cold and damp out here in the barn.
Those good ole boys, Petition the dead horse and Fre3d Capra, have joined me in drinking a little whiskey and rye.
Petition slowly raises his head feebly saying, “Father, just say the black and do the red. Is that too much to ask?” Hearing no reply his head falls back to the floor. You’re a beaten dead horse if you dare ask for what’s right.
Fre3d Capra tries to cheer us up with some songs from the Adoremus Hymnal. But his attempt falls flat as we remember that hymnal rightly belongs in the pews at St. Peter’s and not in my barn. Parishioners asked to keep the hymnals, but you’re a beaten dead horse if you dare ask for what’s right.
There was member of the Finance Council who pointed out potential concerns about parish finances. He, himself would not contribute until his concerns could be allayed. But he was asked to leave the Council. If you attempt to dissent against a dissenter, you will become a beaten dead horse.
There was second member of the Finance Council who also voiced concerns. He too was dismissed. Once again, showing that you are a beaten dead horse if you dare ask for what’s right at St. Peter’s Parish.
More recently, another Finance Council member challenged the way a large sum had been spent without review by the Council. Rather than sign a statement that all was well when one could not be sure that all was well, he resigned from the Council. The point is clear enough now, you are a beaten dead horse if you dare ask for what’s right.
Those good ole boys Petition and Fre3d pour us another round of whiskey and rye. A silent salute is made in tribute to three former Finance Council members, three soldiers of the Church Militant who dared to ask for what’s right.
It’s cold and damp out here in the barn, but those good ole boys Petition and Fre3d have been watching this all happen for two and a half years. If you dare to assent to the teachings of the Church and simple Catholic common sense, you will become a beaten dead horse at St. Peter’s.
So, now it’s time for a purge at the Parish Pastoral Council. Just like at the Finance Council, one can not be allowed to voice an opinion that is counter to the Pastor’s thinking. It is required that your “party” credentials must be spotless to be a member.
A few weeks back, a Council member was asked to resign. That member and his wife had dared to ask for what is right. They did so publicly in this blog, the Sheep of Kephas. But that act of assent to counter dissent was viewed as grounds for dismissal from the Pastoral Council.
Petition, Fre3d, and I had thought about taking the old 1962 pink Rambler and surfboard down to Pensacola, Florida and sit on the beach with our Adoremus Hymnals and sing some Advent standards. However, tonight, here in the cold and damp barn we decided not to go. The fight is here, St. Peter’s is our Parish. We will continue to ask for what’s right, we will continue to fight, even, yes, even if we must be beaten like a dead horse.
Like Petition, I will raise my head and say, “Father, just say the black and do the red. Is that too much to ask?”
Meanwhile, my dear sweet wife will make the long drive to other, saner parishes and pray novenas and make sacrifices, as we all should.
Yes, it’s cold and damp out here in the barn.
Those good ole boys Petition the dead horse and Fre3d Capra have joined me in drinking a little whiskey and rye. And I’ll keep praying for the “status quo ante” until the day that I die.
And the moral of this story is: becoming a beaten dead horse at St. Peter’s is as simple as American Pie.
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the M̶̷̲̅ᴜ̶̷̲̅s̶̷̲̅ɪ̶̷̲̅ᴄ̶̷̲̅ Parish died.
(To our readers, there will be more to follow.)
The Rest of the Story
Yesterday, I said, “I report, you decide.” That’s good, but not good enough. In order to be “fair and balanced” I need to make sure you have all the information. One of my readers noted that I hadn’t provided information for fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. He rightly suggested that, “Also, since there weren’t three consecutive reports it could appear that a “good one” was deliberately omitted.”
After digging through last year’s bulletins, woohoo! I found it. So, now I’ll report it “all” and you can decide:
FY ended June 30, 2014 / FY ended June, 30 2015 / FY_ended_June 30, 2016
After viewing all three side-by-side, you can begin to understand why another reader stated:
The financial picture is even worse than presented because the deficit has been reduced by the “one-time” sale of cemetery plots – this is, in fact, a non-recurring sale of an asset….
So, without beating my husband’s poor dead horse, please let me repeat some questions I asked in my post Parish Finance, Social Justice, or Political Agenda:
– What is happening within and to the St. Peter’s Finance Council?
– Does the Council’s composition (size and representation) remain as it did under previous pastors?
– Have new members been appointed with or without consultation with other members?
– Has the leadership within the Council been advised of our Pastor’s intentions regarding his vision of the financial future of the Parish?
St. John Paul II, pray for us!
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us!
For the Sheep in Exile – Bulletin 2016-06-26
Here is Bulletin_2016-06-26
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
We attended the 8:30 Mass at St. John the Baptist today. This was a special day for the parish with extra special blessings. First there was a plenary indulgence for attending Mass at the parish under the patronage of St. John. Next there was a final blessing with a 1st class relic of the Saint.
Analysis and Commentary
It looks like Father will be away for a portion of this coming week. According to the bulletin, there will be Communion Services on Monday and Wednesday and the office will be closed on Monday. We wonder if there will be a visiting priest for Masses this weekend.
Chester Gap
As I am writing this, it is about 6:30 PM on February 26. Today, I learned of an accident that took place on Chester Gap. An SUV, a school bus, and a small sedan were involved. Thankfully, there were no children on the bus and no one was hurt. The SUV was undamaged, but the small sedan collided with the bus. The direct cause was ice on the road.
The woman driving the SUV was emotionally shaken. She could not reach her husband by phone until over two hours later. The husband was 2,146 miles away on business, where he could provide no assistance. Now he is asking himself why this happened. As I said, the direct cause was ice on the road. Yet, I know, you know, all of the Sheep of Kephas know that there was an indirect cause that led to this accident. My wife, the driver of the SUV, and I, the husband who is so far away during a time of need, know that indirect cause resides at St. Peter Catholic Church in Washington, VA.
On at least two occasions this blog has referred to Chester Gap. In the post Dead Horse #6 – It’s a Mystery, on June 1, 2015 we said:
Chester Gap is at an altitude of 1,339 ft (408 m) and it separates Warren County from our own Rappahannock County. It is also the dividing line between two parishes of the Diocese of Arlington, our St. Peter’s and St. John the Baptist. During the Winter, the Gap presents a hazard to those traveling from Washington, Virginia to Front Royal. The road can be icy and treacherous. It is a hazard that many of the sheep in exile must negotiate on a weekly or even daily basis.
It is Lent. My wife makes every effort possible to attend daily Mass. On Wednesday of this week she was able to attend a Communion Service held by Deacon Benyo at St. Peter’s, only three miles from our home in Sperryville. Why was it that today she had to cross Chester Gap to attend Mass at St. John the Baptist? Perhaps our statements on January 4, 2015 in our post For the Sheep in Exile – Bulletin 2015-01-04 will help to answer the question.
Personal Commentary: My wife and I made the passage twice across a foggy, rainy, and sometimes treacherous Chester Gap last evening to attend Mass at St. John the Baptist. As we were traveling, we engaged in our recurring conversation about why we travel the extra 20.6 miles each way, week after week. Certainly, if we only made the three-mile trip from our house to St. Peter’s, we would be safer and we would save a full hour of our time. Yet, the Sheep in Exile know why we make the trip. They know why they also make the sacrifice. …
Going back to our statement on June 1, 2015, we noted:
These days, Chester Gap is also the dividing line between to ways of thinking about the Roman Catholic Church. On the Front Royal side of the Gap orthodoxy prevails. On the Washington [, VA] side there is something different. …
There it is. The Sheep in Exile, the sheep of St. Peter’s who desire to be fed with sound, undiluted Catholic doctrine, often make the trek to other parishes. They go elsewhere so that that can partake in sacramental worship and prayer without fear of encountering aberrations. They go to avoid near occasions of sin resulting from frustration and even anger. Go to a Sunday 8:30 AM Mass at St. John the Baptist and will see them and perhaps you will also see us.
As we have said in the past, we pray for our Pastor and we pray for the sheep. But there comes a time, a time like this, when you begin to wonder why we must endure this. At times like this, we begin to wonder why the Bishop thought that moving this particular priest to St. Peter’s would be beneficial to anyone or that any problem would be solved.
Consider if things had gone differently on the morning of February 26. Suppose there were children on the bus. Suppose someone had been hurt.
Consider also, if the driver of that SUV had not had not been compelled to cross Chester Gap by the need seek a Mass said in reverent conformity with the desire of the Holy Church to feed and nourish the sheep.
Consider that, if the driver of the SUV could have found something better than the current minimalist Mass at St. Peter’s, she would have been among the first to be at St. Peter’s that morning – – and she would have been there safely.
Pray for our Pastor. And pray that the bishops throughout this country lay to rest the notion that they can solve a problem merely by moving the direct cause of the problem elsewhere. It doesn’t work for pedophiles and it won’t work for radical pastors either.
Pray for spiritual justice.
Things of Little Consequence?
This blog has documented no major heresies at St. Peter’s. This blog has uncovered no moves toward schism from Rome at St. Peter’s. This blog has not outed a Martin Luther at St. Peter’s. Nor, please Lord, do we ever expect to find a liturgical or spiritual “smoking gun”. This blog has merely documented little things, thing taken individually that are of almost no consequence whatsoever. And that, dear friends in Christ, is the point. The little things, one after another, are cumulative and over time they amount to something that is of some consequence.
This weekend I attended 5:00PM Mass at St. John the Baptist and the 8:30AM Mass at St. Peter’s. I encountered the same 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time at both Masses, yet my recollections of each cannot be reconciled. At St. John’s one statement stands out and demands my attention. It was about Reading 2. There is the option of using a complete form or a short form. At St. John’s the complete form was used, but Father pointed out that some priests would choose the short form because the edited verses speak of some of the Church’s hard teachings. Later in the homily, Father used the term “inconvenient truth” to describe the hard teachings that separate Roman Catholicism from those who have chosen schism or heresy.
So, what did I encounter at St. Peter’s on the very same 21st Sunday of Ordinary time? Yes, it was the short form of Reading 2. But, there is an event that preceded that reading. Approximately ten minutes before Mass, our Pastor came down the left side of the main nave and spoke to the lector. He indicated that today the lector should read the short form of St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. The lector responded in a way that appeared to indicate that he was hoping to read the long form. Father answered, “No, I don’t want to get into all of that.” [The precise words might have been very slightly different, but very close to that.] Father then took the lector up and showed him where the short form was in the lectionary.
So, what we heard at St. Peter’s on Sunday morning was the text below, minus the words highlighted in purple. Those words in purple constitute an “inconvenient truth” in Catholic doctrine. It is a truth that is not politically correct in the eyes of some. Yet, for my wife and me that truth is a part of the reason why we have remained happily married for over 43 years. The entirety of Ephesians 5:21-32 is a formula for a strong marriage and a strong Church. Why dilute it?
Reading 2 Eph 5:21-32
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the church,
he himself the savior of the body.
As the church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.
Now, we have little time left in this very long work day. We leave you with three things to consider:
- Consider that Father has eliminated the missalettes.
- Consider that less that one in a fifty St. Peter’s Mass attendees brings a missal, privately purchased missalette, or copy of reading God’s Word Daily Mass Readings to Sunday Mass.
- Consider that only a very few who attended Mass at St. Peter’s this weekend realize that they have been deprived of an “inconvenient truth” or the completeness of teaching relating to marriage and Christ’s relationship to His Church.
Consider those things and also consider the cumulative nature of the deprivations brought upon St. Peter’s – one at a time. Consider the minor alterations in liturgy and in our expression of prayer. Consider our shift away from a balanced approach to the Spiritual and Corporal works of Mercy to an expression of social justicism. Consider what a radical pastor can do in a year.
Dirty Feet
We will keep this brief because Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has already covered the topic very well in Foot washing on Holy Thursday. Wherein Fr. Z rants. and POLL: 2015 Holy Thursday Foot Washing Rite – what happened?
Last night at St. Peter’s there was no Foot Washing Rite. Our Pastor did speak in length about the account in the Gospel according to St. John and the washing of the feet. As Fr. Z notes:
In the Roman Rite, the washing of feet on Holy Thursday is an option. It may be left out without disturbing the integrity of the Holy Thursday Mass of the Last Supper (otherwise, it wouldn’t be a legitimate option).
If my wife and I recall correctly, there was a Foot Washing Rite at St. Peter’s last year. We suppose we can list this as one of the new changes to what had been the status quo ante. Also, we had an alternative Eucharistic Prayer (not one of the regular four). My best guess is that it was Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation I. There are two points that we would make here:
- The departure from previous inclusion of the Foot Washing Rite left me without the more tangible inspiration that I normally experience by witnessing the Rite. The experience was similar to my observations in the post Were You There? Having said that, I must admit that it is far more preferable to go without the Rite than to witness it when it abused in the manner that we have seen in other Dioceses. Even if our Pastor chose the minimalist option, at least he closed the door on abuse.
- The absence of the Foot Washing Rite and the use of an alternative Eucharistic Prayer tend to cause discontinuity and distraction. The Liturgical Year is meant to be cyclical. Each year we encounter anew the deep mysteries of our Faith. Each year we have the opportunity to ask ourselves if we have grown in our understanding. The three-year cycle of readings enrich the Liturgical Year by providing different perspectives, without changing the focus or disrupting the continuity. In my mind, it would be helpful if the Pastor avoided introducing discontinuities and distractions.
I may have overstated the thought when I posted Were You There? and said that I felt as if I had been written out of the script at the Passion on Palm Sunday. Yet, after Holy Thursday Mass, I drove home thinking that perhaps I might be in the state that St. Peter would have been in if he had refused to let Jesus wash his feet – “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Our Pastor exercised his rightful option and there is no objection from us. Meanwhile, I will continue to follow Christ through the Triduum towards Easter morning and I will continue to do my best to come to the end of my life without “dirty feet”.
One Year Ago Today
Yes, it really was one year ago today when the moving truck arrived at our old farm house in Sperryville. The mountains of eastern Idaho were far behind and were replaced with the beauty of the Blue Ridge. We had done our due diligence and prayed earnestly for God to find just the right place to live for however long He wanted us to be here. We had either known personally or knew of every pastor that had led the flock at St. Peter’s. After nearly six years of living in a diocese that had seemingly abandoned the call to nourish its sheep, we were in a place where we could be refreshed in the true beauty of the sacraments and the faithful teaching of the Church. Our only regret was that our friends, those who remained faithful despite the impoverished teaching and liturgy emanating from Boise, were left behind to contend with the relentless corrupting forces of modernism.
For six months we worked to regain our spiritual strength and stability. In addition to the repairs to our souls, we also worked hard to repair our old farm house. By mid-June, the time was right to invite Fr. Murphy to bless our new home. He responded to our request rapidly and happily. It was a day filled with joy. A Pastor attends to the needs of his sheep.
Just weeks later, our brief respite came to an end. You know the details. They are are listed and described in this blog. Just as in Idaho, faith filled Catholics, dismayed and repulsed by the minimalism and modernism, the social-justicism and the adherence to the teachings of st. saul, are leaving St. Peter’s. They are exiles because they cannot tolerate, will not tolerate that which is intolerable. And my wife is among them. This is not what we were dreaming of one year ago today when the moving truck arrived at our old farm house in Sperryville.
Yesterday, we saw a ray of light shine down on the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Boise. It was the occasion for which my wife and I and so many of our friends have prayed for years. It was the Installation Mass of the Bishop of the Diocese of Boise the Most Reverend Peter F. Christensen, M.A., D.D. as the Eighth Bishop of Boise. No, the Diocese of Boise won’t recover rapidly from the years of spiritual neglect. But we met and talked to many of the new and younger priests there. They have been waiting for this installation as have we. Some day, there will be many parishes in Idaho that will be like St. Peter’s used to be – that time which was the “status quo ante.”
As in Idaho, prayers will be answered here at St. Peter’s. Keep in mind, although we might be the sheep and lambs of St. Peter’s, we are also members of the Church Militant, ready to fight under the Standard of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our weapons are the Rosary, our devotions, our sacrifices, our fasting, our adoration of the Eucharist, and our adherence to the command to “love one another.”
BTW: The last Pastoral Council meeting was December 2, and still no posting of the minutes of that meeting. Why?
Status Quo Ante, Update #1
On December 8th, my wife and I published an open letter entitled Status Quo Ante to the Very Reverend Stanley J. Krempa, V.F., the Dean of Deanery IV. The letter was also sent directly to Fr. Krempa via email with our names and phone number provided. Two days later, Fr. Krempa graciously responded to our letter. He advised that the particular matters described in the open letter were not within within his purview. He stated that he had forwarded the letter to the appropriate diocesan authority.
My wife and I greatly appreciate Fr. Krempa’s response. We also understand that the link for this blog was included in the email to this diocesan authority.
On a different note, we were greatly moved by the action of the Pastor and the Parochial Vicar at St. John the Baptist. The letter Affirmation of Faith will be signed by many members of that Parish and will be forwarded to Pope Francis as a “Christmas Gift” affirming the truths taught by the Church concerning marriage and family. This blog subscribes to the motto “Assent to counter dissent.” The Letter from St. John’s is that type of assent. We would hope and pray that similar actions could come from St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Washington, VA.
Status Quo Ante
An open letter to the Very Reverend Stanley J. Krempa, V.F.
Dear Fr. Krempa,
St. Peter Catholic Church in Washington, Virginia is a small parish. My wife and I joined this parish by choice after returning to Virginia from Idaho. When we arrived, St. Peter’s was a happy parish with faith-filled people – there was harmony. Now the harmony is gone and it is no longer happy.
The blog Sheep of Kephas is a journal of our observations and commentary concerning the “tidal wave of change” that is destabilizing the spiritual life of my family and the families of many whom we have met here.
This weekend, we enjoyed a brief respite from our recent problems when a former pastor filled in for Fr. Grinnell. If you explore the blog and read For the Sheep in Exile – Bulletin 2014-12-07, you will learn what a joy it was to have this moment of relief and participate in the Mass in the way that the Church intends it to be celebrated.
Today, was the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. My wife and I attended Mass at St. John the Baptist in Front Royal. In the pews there we saw other Sheep in Exile from St. Peter’s. After our brief respite, once more we have to go elsewhere to take part in the Mass the way it used to be at St. Peter’s. Once more we have have to go elsewhere seeking the nourishment that a pastor is supposed to provide. Once more we have to wonder why the spiritual stability we had at St. Peter’s has been taken away from us and replaced with some shoddy, minimalistic, replica of the Mass.
You might not like nor agree with everything you see in the Sheep of Kephas. That is your prerogative. Yet, this is the only means my wife and I have at our disposal to make a plea for a return to the “status quo ante.” Other request and pleas by many other parishioners addressed to Fr. Grinnell or others in the Diocese appear to have gone unanswered or ignored.
We are asking for nothing more than that which was taken from us. We only ask for the status quo ante.
Yours in Christ and very respectfully,
(Name provided in separate email)
The Sheep of Kephas 