Whew! Sorry it's been so long, readers (ehem....both of you.....). Holy Week, I took a break, as you ought to have known. Some break. The Chrism Mass was noticeably unhappy. The cathedral was nearly empty by comparison to last year (and, from what I understand, years previous), of both clergy and laity. I think, sadly, that this was a form of protest against the Diocese for its stand against the as-yet-unrecognized Catholic school teachers union. It's a long, complicated, touchy story that need not be gotten into here, but check it out here, if you're interested. As I was saying, it's a shame politics and religion are so easily blurred.
After that, my pastor, Fr. Dan, was sick throughout all of the Triduum with a nearly debilitating flu. It's hard being a rookie Master of Ceremonies in the first place, let alone having a priest who's barely able to stand for the most solemn liturgies of the Church calendar. It was a challenge, but everything went well. I did some more public singing, first at the Good Friday Veneration of the Cross at St. Joseph's in Duryea (a place where they chant St. John's Passion), then I sang the Exultet at St. Rocco's on Holy Saturday. I think all those years of being told that I have a terrible voice are starting to wear off, for better or for worse.
Then, of course, came Easter. All the Masses went beautifully, and I was especially touched by the choir's performance of the
Regina Caeli at the end of the last Mass on Easter, which they will continue to do until the end of the season. Neat idea, huh? Then, I spent exactly 29 hours at home, which passed quickly but dearly.
During the octave of Easter, things got especially tricky. Last Thursday, on my way down to the chapel, one of our daily Mass attendees informed the rector and me that Fr. Buttini, the 94-year-old who's usually in the chapel by 5:00, was nowhere to be found. We ran to his room, and found him on the floor just behind the closed door. He was rushed to the hospital, and today has been the first day so far that I did not get the chance to go visit him. However, over this past week, he's been getting steadily (and slowly) better. He's feeding himself now, and keeps trying to say the Office, though he has trouble reading the breviary. His abilities to stand and walk are gradually returning. My understanding is that he'll be put into physical therapy any day now, and, if he doesn't quit (which would not be his style, after this much time), he should be able to return to a more-or-less normal life here at the seminary. Eventually. So, please pray for Fr. Buttini.
On a completely unrelated note, a local Catholic radio station has now relocated to a room in our seminary. The arrangement seems to be for the best for all involved. They get a truly Catholic space from which to broadcast, and we, in return, have increased access to the media to get our message out there. The owner has already offered me the possibility of "appearing" on the station, which will slowly increase local programming as time goes on. So, tune in to JMJ Radio, from St. Joseph's Oblate Seminary in Laflin, PA. That's 750 AM, Scranton's Catholic Radio station.
Otherwise, it's par for the course in the world of Brother Patrick. How are you doing?
On Sunday, the seminary was blessed to play host (a second time in the same week) to Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, of EWTN fame. Fr. Don gave a presentation to a packed chapel on his conversion story, which is rightly acclaimed as miraculous, from a drug-addicted, sex-craved, violent thief with connections to Japanese organized crime to not only a Roman Catholic, but a priest to boot. His story was truly inspiring. 
