Happy Sunday, friends. I have had a column idea kicking around in my head for some time now, and I’ve been keeping it in my back pocket for a week just like this one, when I am too busy to give the necessary time and attention to the word of God before it’s time to prep for preaching. So here, after an accumulating note on my phone from the last eighteen months, is: “Fr. McCullough’s Non-Comprehensive List of Things that Catholics Should Probably Know About, But Generally Do Not. Volume One.” An important word of caution: I am not treating any of these with the usual pastoral care and sensitivity for which I am (perhaps) known. At any rate, I am simply listing the facts as I see them, with the hopes that it helps someone get to Heaven. If you have any concerns, questions, or follow up, you know where to find me, and I hope you know that I say all this out of love.

· It is forbidden, and deeply inadvisable, to participate in anything occult. Don’t have anything to do with Ouija boards, tarot cards, mediums,  and the like. It’s bad news.
 
· Marriages of Catholics performed outside of the Church, and without the Church’s permission or dispensation, are considered invalid. If you or someone you know is in this situation, please contact me or Fr. Jeff, and we’ll talk about how  to right things.
 
· People don’t become angels when they die.  I hear it a lot. It’s a nice thought, it’s just not true. Sorry to be the bad guy on that one.

· Parents, especially dads, should bless their kids when they turn in for the night. Just draw a little sign of the cross on their foreheads as one does  at their baptism. I always tap the blessing in with the palm of my hand, so it doesn’t just sit on  the surface. And, you know, because I likelightly smacking my niece, nephews, and spiritual children.
 
· Catholics are still obliged to either abstain from meat on Fridays or offer some other penitential act instead, even outside of Lent. It seems that common practice nowadays is to simply not offer any sacrifice on Fridays outside of Lent since  it’s not a hard and fast rule. Penance is still good for us.
 
· There are a great many forms of IVF technology that are dangerously dismissive of human life  and human dignity, and there are medical  professionals right here in Cincinnati who are trained in fertility treatments that are in accord with Catholic teaching. Pray for all those  struggling with infertility, as it is quite the cross to bear.
 
· In accord with Canon Law, each parish of our region offers a Sunday Mass for the people of    the parish every week. This happens all around the world, and you can tell your non-Catholic neighbors that we remember them at Mass every weekend, because we do. It can be a part of your daily evangelization.
 
· When genuflecting in Church, one should do so on the right knee. The left knee is for kings/dignitaries/cardinals/jedi. It makes me shiver a little bit when I notice the left knee  genuflection, but again, most people don’t know.
 
Prayers always,
Fr. McC