The Bishop's Weekly Column from the Parish Bulletin

OUR LADY OF FATIMA

CATHOLIC CHURCH

"By a set of curious chances..." Part Three.

November 23rd, 2009

Well, by now, I've had a few reactions to my meanderings from last week most of them kind offers of assistance. The trouble was that I didn't have internet access and thus e-mail wasn't an option.

In any case I flew back to the United States (appropriately enough) on American Airlines not before waiting 5 hours or so in Terminal 3 at Heathrow. The last time I had used that airport was back in the mid 1980s so it had grown considerably. I read in an in-flight magazine it handles 69 million passengers a year. Judging by the clientele Terminal 3 seems to be located in Saudi Arabia these days - there were women in burkas everywhere. Those who weren't in burkas were in mini-skirts or other trashy clothing. Sitting in an airport really is like watching life go by. I was amazed how out of tune with society I have become. I mean I live my humdrum existence, go on an afternoon walk and pray the Rosary and Chaplets of Divine Mercy with Sister each day, yet though we move in the world, how much it has changed!

Every one of the 5 flights I took on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday had TVs pushing trashy sitcoms (American of course but as Hollywood goes - so goes the world) where the bust line was much in evidence and the skirts as short as was allowable before even the most jaded of spectators might say enough was enough. At one point in Heathrow a group of Muslim women dressed in their traditional attire sat next to me. Ironically I felt I had more respect for their religious sentiment than for a nominal Christian who resists the thought that modesty is still a virtue even if no-one's following it. You see these women weren't afraid to live their religious affiliation and indeed the rise in Islamic fundamentalism has a great deal to do with the secular filth of Western culture. Just 30 years ago the Shah of Iran was toppled because he wanted to bring in Western values to his country. The Muslim clerics of his day would have none of it. Their "radicalism" has swept the Middle East and precisely in proportion to the upswing in Western decadence. Civilizations always crack when morals decline and the skids are under Western culture in a big way.

Crossing the Atlantic for the second time in 24 hours had me landing in Boston. The passport fellow in Heathrow joked: "It's a nice place for a tea party!" The last time I had flown into Boston was for a seminary trip to learn the history behind the founding of this nation. Logan International has also grown significantly since 1993. I remember the last time I went to Boston, the author Charles Coulombe had arrived as well but there was no room for him in the car that had been dispatched to pick up the stragglers. I tried to get him to take my place, since he was the guest of honor (not I) but he would have none of it. I was particularly miffed that he should be put out but he was a gentleman about the whole thing. I was still in a foul temper the next morning but when the Bishop saw me he gave me what for and I deserved it.

This time I went through Immigration in the line for citizens and residents. I don't ever remember using that line before. I showed the fellow the I-95 a stewardess had assured me I needed to fill out. When he saw my green card, he told me I didn't need that form and threw it in the trash can. He then asked me what my occupation was - I didn't have a clerical collar on. It turned out he was a fervent Catholic and we began chatting about the seeming triumph of evil everywhere in the world. I told him that though there appeared to be setbacks, they were only temporary since Our Lord (ever the optimist) tells us: "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world !" By now I had crossed the globe twice and I was of good cheer when my head finally hit the pillow that evening in Boston !

+TF