Richmond Area, Anyone?

[Satori]

Hey, Medic! I go to St. Joseph's, too, although I've been gone for the last few weeks. No one ever talks to me there. Ever. Oh, wait -- I was sitting in front of the little shrine out front, as is my wont -- the one of the Child Jesus -- and an older lady did stop one day to tell me about the statue's history. Apart from that, I have been totally ignored. Apparently the parish is notorious for this, and some parishioners become disgruntled and go to St. Benedict, my sometime NO parish. St. Benedict, by the way, is actually quite conservative and uses a great deal of Latin, more and more as time goes by.

Are you aware that there is another TLM in the area, Our Lady of Fatima? I don't think they are officially associated with SSPX, but if you read their website you will see that there is a connection. I've never been, myself, simply because it is not convenient for me.

There was one other really good parish in the diocese, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton -- I think I mentioned it earlier in the thread. They were very conservative and said a simple but dignified and beautiful NO entirely in Latin, however, Father Smith is no longer there and I don't know what it's like now.

The more I see of the diocese on the whole, the less impressed I am, and I am in a state of dread since I will soon be moving to the southwestern part of the state and may have to make a tough choice.

I do not have a high opinion of our current bishop, especially recently, but I won't write about that on the forum.

Oh, by the way, nothing against Maury -- I'm even friends with some of his relatives -- but I think of him as "pathfinder of the seas," not as a Confederate. That may simply indict me for my ignorance of Confederate history, though.

[MedicMeyers]

My wife and I haven't noticed anyone being overly friendly or standoffish, so we just figured we'd try a little harder to get to know some people. Thus, we'll be working the Italian Festival this weekend and hopefully will meet some people.

I haven't actually been to Our Lady of Fatima, it's hard to find a reason not to go to St. Joe's since it's about 5 min from the house  ;D I was talking to the owner of a Catholic bookstore in town and he said his NO parish may be getting a TLM but I already forgot the name of the parish.

I'm sorry to hear about your move to the more rural area of the state. My time in Blacksburg was unfortunately a time away from the Church. I hope you have luck in finding something reasonable out there. Depending on where you are, Mt. Airy, NC might be your closest TLM and I think it's only on Sat. nights.

And regarding Maury, it really doesn't matter to me, I'm a Yankee through and through, I just find it interesting how much southerners dislike him.

[Satori]

My wife and I haven't noticed anyone being overly friendly or standoffish, so we just figured we'd try a little harder to get to know some people. Thus, we'll be working the Italian Festival this weekend and hopefully will meet some people.

I haven't actually been to Our Lady of Fatima, it's hard to find a reason not to go to St. Joe's since it's about 5 min from the house  ;D I was talking to the owner of a Catholic bookstore in town and he said his NO parish may be getting a TLM but I already forgot the name of the parish.

I'm sorry to hear about your move to the more rural area of the state. My time in Blacksburg was unfortunately a time away from the Church. I hope you have luck in finding something reasonable out there. Depending on where you are, Mt. Airy, NC might be your closest TLM and I think it's only on Sat. nights.

And regarding Maury, it really doesn't matter to me, I'm a Yankee through and through, I just find it interesting how much southerners dislike him.

Southerners don't dislike Mr. Maury. At least not the Southerners I know. We're just nitpicky about Monument Avenue, I guess.

I assume the Catholic bookstore you're talking about is the Church Mouse. I know the owners; they go to St. Benedict. I've been hearing ever since the Motu Proprio that there would be a TLM offered at St. Ben's -- parishioners even signed a petition stating their desire for one -- but Father is nervous about it for some reason, nervous about doing it right.

What do you look like? I'll watch for you and your wife at Mass! I'm the one who always comes alone and sits in front of the little shrine after Mass reading a book.

[MedicMeyers]

The Church Mouse would be the one! I suppose being nervous about doing it right is a good thing.

We usually attend the 11 but we'll be at the earlier one this week because of the Festival. I'm a short fat guy who looks like he's in his 30s (or so I'm told) and my wife is cute little blonde lady  Generally we sit on the right about 4 pews from the back. I'll keep a look out for someone in front of the shrine. (You said the one out front earlier, is that the one outside near the parking lot to the left as you are looking at the main entrance?)

[Satori]

The Church Mouse would be the one! I suppose being nervous about doing it right is a good thing.

We usually attend the 11 but we'll be at the earlier one this week because of the Festival. I'm a short fat guy who looks like he's in his 30s (or so I'm told) and my wife is cute little blonde lady  Generally we sit on the right about 4 pews from the back. I'll keep a look out for someone in front of the shrine. (You said the one out front earlier, is that the one outside near the parking lot to the left as you are looking at the main entrance?)

I go to the 11 o' clock and usually sit on the right on or near the back pew, at the end closest to the aisle. I am short, have long chestnut hair nearly always pulled back, wear glasses and look like a librarian. I carry a huge tweed bag and usually wear a floppy off-white hat on hot days.

Does the Festival take place after Mass on Sunday? I hope so, because that will give me something to do while waiting for my ride!

Oh, and yes, the shrine is the one you mentioned, to the left of the main entrance.

[MedicMeyers]

I think I may have seen you in the past. It sounds like you sit almost directly behind us, go figure.

The festival is 11am - 8pm on Sat. and Sun. Also, the Low and High Masses will be switched and because of the Festival I think that the 11 is actually at 10:30, but I don't remember now. I think there was also an announcement last week that the bulletin had a misprint regarding the time change. Sorry I can't give you the exact time, but I figured I'd let you know in case you were planning on being there for the regular 11.

[Satori]

I think I may have seen you in the past. It sounds like you sit almost directly behind us, go figure.

The festival is 11am - 8pm on Sat. and Sun. Also, the Low and High Masses will be switched and because of the Festival I think that the 11 is actually at 10:30, but I don't remember now. I think there was also an announcement last week that the bulletin had a misprint regarding the time change. Sorry I can't give you the exact time, but I figured I'd let you know in case you were planning on being there for the regular 11.

Aargh! I hope you are wrong, because I don't drive myself to the Mass and can't go earlier. I guess this means I'll miss confession again (sigh). Oh. Well.

I remember seeing a nice young couple sitting in front of me as I looked around one morning trying to discern if I were the only married woman wearing a light-colored veil. Perhaps it was you and your wife!

[philosafari]

I'm sorry to hear about your move to the more rural area of the state. My time in Blacksburg was unfortunately a time away from the Church. I hope you have luck in finding something reasonable out there. Depending on where you are, Mt. Airy, NC might be your closest TLM and I think it's only on Sat. nights.

Why were you in Blacksburg? I'm a student at Virginia Tech, but I live in Roanoke(I commute daily).

[MedicMeyers]

I was a student at VT as well, but lived in Blacksburg and later Christiansburg. Roanoke is a nice town, we drove there every once in a while to do some shopping (BBurg didn't have as much as it does it now, even though it was only a few years ago) and ice skating.

[TradCathYouth]

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is unfortunately pretty bad as well. The Mass is very irreverent and the reader is usually a college kid in shorts and a ratty T while the servers aren't dressed much better. The worst part is that they have neutered the creed. They took out the "men" in "for us men and our salvation". They even have it printed in the "program" that way so that people won't have to be confused by seeing it differently in a missal. The nonsense is just too much, especially at the Bishop's own seat. Admittedly I have never been to one of his Masses, but if he allows what goes on when he's not there, who knows. Sorry, I guess that was more venting.

In any case, to answer "Has it improved?" I guess I would say, I hope not, otherwise I am truly scared about what it was like before, hahaha.

In the two years I was at VCU, I had never stepped foot into the Cathedral to just even look at it.