Author: Bryan Baldwin

Yesterday, my lovely wife and I attended Mass at Old St. Mary’s in Chinatown, Washington, D.C. They have the Ecclesia Dei indult, and we were treated to a Low Mass. (I am a 30-year-old convert living in the Arlington Diocese, and our bishop has not found it necessary to grant the indult; consequently I have never participated in the “old” Mass before.)

Had I know the delights that awaited me, I would have gone much sooner. I was struck by the silence, the Tridentine mumble, well-trained altar boys, the lack of pop music, the repetitions, and the reverence of the faithful, the servers, and the priest, among other things. I was also struck by the difficulties a renegade priest would have if he wanted to abuse the ritual to suit his own tastes.

The entire experience was, in a word, perfect.

Fr. Johansen comments on the march for life and decries both political parties (validly, I think) for their either overt or de facto support of the culture of death. I agree with him that the president’s absence from the march was troubling. I know the man can’t be everywhere, but this does not seem to me to be the event to which he should “phone it in.” I don’t know where he was, but it’s not where I would have had him be, and this holding-at-arm’s-length is not encouraging.

This is encouraging: the vanguard of the pro-life movement seems to be the under-30s. Let us hope and pray for a social revolution.

My lovely wife and I are heading to Chicago next week for a music convention. While we are there, we intend to visit St. John Cantius. Any others you readers might suggest? We’re especially interested in old, beautiful parishes that have some historical significance. Here’s your opportunity to tell us where to go…

“You must love yourself. The most important love you can have is love for yourself,” according to a message given to our students today by Dr. Lonise Bias, who has made a career out of recovering from the death of her son, Len, a basketball player who took cocaine in 1986 after being drafted by the Celtics.

I am not judging this woman. I have never lost a son. I hope I never do. But it seems to me that Dr. Bias is responding to feeling guilty about the way she raised her boy and that she is attempting to atone for this by charging PTAs and taxpayers $5000 per session to bring a message of hope and self-respect to students.

I have no issue with the good doctor’s zeal, but her message gets the cart before the horse. Of course we, who are made in the image of God, are lovable, but only because we are made in the image of God; there’s nothing in and of ourselves that is intrinsically good. All that we have is from God and it is possible that we ourselves only if we understanding that the good we love is a gift of God. We are unworthy. In addition, if we choose to take mind-altering drugs we are even less worthy of our own love. I’m sorry Len Bias died of a drug overdose, but a lack of self-love wasn’t his problem. Of course, at only $5000, she couldn’t be bothered to go into all of this.