GUEST COLUMN
Fr. Hanlon's Strong Hands
December 2006By James C. Wiles
James G. Wiles is a Philadelphia lawyer.
When I was an altar boy from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, I served mostly at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Colesville, Penn. Assumption BVM was a part of the newly created Diocese of Allentown. Previously, the Allentown Diocese had been part of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Our parish priest, the Rev. James Hanlon, was from Brewerytown, one of the German-Irish neighborhoods which no longer exist in Philadelphia.
For a rural parish, we were pretty "high church," as the Anglicans say. Benediction, stations, 40 hours devotion, the May Day procession of our Lady and Eucharistic processions on Corpus Christi, Christ the King, and Holy Thursday. If the Pope himself had dropped by Assumption BVM for a drink, he would have felt right at home.
Fr. Hanlon had us altar boys listen to records so we could get Latin pronunciations right. He taught us how to walk, how to stand, how to use the censer, how to chant, and, most importantly, how to look a big crowd in the eye and maintain our composure. "If you ever drop the Cross during a procession," he said to me one time (I was the tallest altar boy; everything I do well in court as a lawyer I learned from him), "make it look like part of the ritual."
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Back to December 2006 Issue
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Wow! What a legacy! Not the rectory, convent, gym, school, church or parish center.
Your words. |
Posted by: gespin3549
December 01, 2006 09:08 AM EST
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| Oh if only we had thousands more Father Handlons. In this evil politically correct atmosphere one can't even say homosexuality acts are sins without being called a homophobe, which I am not. A sin was a sin over two thousand years ago and it still is a sin no matter what they call it today. Alternative life style, pragmatic abortions, relativism etc. A sin then is a sin now. Humanity has not changed. Jan Ann Heller |
Posted by: hopeandprayer
December 12, 2006 09:02 PM EST
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"In this evil politically correct atmosphere one can't even say homosexuality acts are sins without being called a homophobe"
That has been the plan from the start. Take the words away so we dare not even speak them for fear of false labels.
Sad that we have allowed it to get this far. |
Posted by: falcon
December 12, 2006 09:30 PM EST
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Vatican City
Vatican official Franc Cardinal Rode said religious orders today
are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist
mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices.
Washington DC
Francis Cardinal George, president of the US Conference of Catholic
Bishops, has denounced the homosexual-activism group New Ways Ministry.
Vermont
Buffeted by priest sex abuse lawsuits, the Diocese of Burlington
says it will sell its headquarters building and a children's camp
to raise money for settlements to alleged abuse victims.
Spain
Parent organizations in Spain are protesting the curriculum
of the Socialist government's required education course,
after it was revealed that it promotes bestiality.
Wisconsin
A Nigerian-American priest has been arrested on a charge of
embezzling up to $200,000 from two parishes in the Diocese of LaCrosse.
New York
Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Albany, with the approval of Bishop
Howard Hubbard, will be passing out free syringes to IV drug users in
two urban neighborhoods to prevent the spread of AIDS.
more news links...
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