Fr. Jim's Blog

I am not sure what kind of virus I picked up last week, but it sure knocked me for a loop. It didn't cause any cold-like symptoms such as a runny noise, cough, or chest pain. I know it wasn't the flu because the doctor tested me for that. It is on the way out, but I still feel tired and drained and will probably sleep a lot tomorrow after daily Mass. I was drifting through the television stations tonight and found someone singing a song called "Where No One Stands Alone." I wasted no time in downloading it from Itunes. It has great lyrics about wanting to be in that place where no one stands alone. I found a YouTube video of the Gaither Vocal Band performing it. There were all kinds of other artists (including Elvis Presley) who have performed it, but I liked the Gaither version the best.  Have a great week. The video is below. 

I have posted all of the presentations from last weekend's retreat in the Resources section of the website. A special word of thanks to the staff at the Palisades and to all the participants for their inspiring faith and willingness to examine issues of fear in their lives. It was a privilege to join you all and I was doubly blessed! in Christ Fr. Jim

When I was a kid I used to love to watch Looney Tunes. I couldn't believe it when I found out that one man did all of the voices for the characters. Mel Blanc was a  genius! Below is part of an episode with Bugs Bunny, Witch Hazel, and Hansel & Gretel. It hilarious how Hansel & Gretel are portrayed with their German accent and all. Make sure to catch their last line to Witch Hazel. Funny stuff in my humble opinion.

I signed up a Twitter account a few days ago. My primary motivation was that Pope Benedict XVI had just announced that he has a Twitter account. So, I bought a Twitter plug-in for my website and had a total of about 4 Tweets. I then decided I didn't want to waste the menu space and that I really have no desire at this point to enter the flock of Twitters. Maybe that will change in the future - who knows! On another "note" I see that iTunes got a huge makeover with their latest update. I like the look and feel of it and it makes looking for music a lot easier. My mom and dad were here on Monday and part of Tuesday. I picked them up at the airport on Monday afternoon from their 3 week excursion to India. They enjoyed the experience but both sad it was nice to be home. Have a blessed day!

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Andrew, the apostle. The Word Among Us had a great reflection on how he couldn't keep his relationship with Christ to himself but was always seeking to help others find the joy of knowing and following him. Here is the Daily Reflection from the Word Among Us. Saint Andrew, Apostle “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” (Romans 10:15) How appropriate a reading for the feast of St. Andrew! A native of Gal­ilee, Andrew and his brother Simon Peter established a fishing business in the seaside town of Capernaum. Andrew probably had religious lean­ings early on. He was an ardent follower of John the Baptist and eagerly accepted John’s testimony that Jesus was the promised Lamb of God. As he followed Jesus, Andrew found the way to true happiness and the fulfillment of all God’s prom­ises as John had taught them. Thus, Andrew knew that unless people were told about Jesus and brought to meet Jesus as he had been, they wo...

Today I purchased two new domains for my website. If you use my old address of http://www.jnorthrop.com , you will automatically be redirected to http://www.thegraceofpentecost.com . This is the new address for my website.  I also purchased http://www.thegraceofpentecost.org in case I would like to use that for future use. I assumed someone would have already had this domain, but they didn't.  Once you are redirected to the new address, please change your bookmark if you had the old one set as a bookmark.  Thanks! 

I have been busy working with my new website software and have greatly revamped my website to make it easier to read and navigate through. I put banners on it that look like ads, but they send you to other resources. I have one I just completed with an exciting announcement about Fr. Donald Calloway who will be visiting us in the Spring. Click here to check out all of the changes. Have a blessed day!