Flee the Cities and Experience Authentic Culture

Main and Court St. Woodstock, VA

What do I mean when I use the term "authentic culture?" It's pretty easy to explain. It means friendship, community, and shared life. Many times we experience that kind of community in our churches, although even there, some are so large you know only a fraction of the members who attend. But what about the secular community?

When I lived in Alexandria, I knew my neighbors. We lived on Lisbon Lane for almost thirty years and we had a number of neighborhood picnics and other events that helped us get to know one another. So we can all experience community on a small scale even in highly populated areas.

But after we moved to Woodstock, community and culture took on a much more personal aspect. We got to know more people in the community whom we see on many occasions: at the polls, at the grocery store, at the post office, at the ice cream parlor and restaurants. That rarely happened in Alexandria.

This Land is Your Land! Pray for her and your local community!

Woodstock, VA historic courthouse

Does it make you angry to see the evil global elitists doing everything they can to destroy not only our country, but all the sovereign nations of the world? Love of your homeland is a virtue.  According to St. Thomas Aquinas it is man's nature to be  a “civic and social animal.” (ST, I-II, 72.4) Society begins in the family, the basic building block of every community. If the family is moral and strong, a nation will be moral and strong. That's why communist philosophy always strikes at the family. Orwell showed that masterfully in 1984 where children were encouraged to spy on their parents and report them for violations against Big Brother. 

Join in Praying the Way of the Cross at My Parish in Woodstock, VA

Small Town Blessings: Merry Christmas for One!

I love living in Woodstock! (The "other Woodstock") As I've gone around town the last few days I haven't been wished happy holidays or seasons greetings. No, the clerk at the post office and the cashiers at Sheetz and Rite Aid all wished me a "Merry Christmas." Even a local real estate office wishes me a "very Merry Christmas" on their sign board every time I pass by. There is something so much more human in a small town. We lived in Alexandria for about 38 years and, while it offered many amenities we don't have in Woodstock -- five nearby parishes with lots of daily Mass times from which to choose, many good restaurants, several nearby Malls, and a great choice among grocery stores -- I gladly accept their loss for a less anonymous place filled with real people -- that and all the animals grazing on the hillsides and the wide variety of birds coming to our feeders -- not to mention the beautiful mountains.