June 6, 2013

June 6, 2013

June 6, 2013

Dear Friends,

It feels as if the monsoon has begun. They date it by the dew point, but one can feel the humidity, and the increasing heat. This does not mean we will get rain. We can hope, of course, and pray. It would be so nice to have rain. The grass panics at the first drops and shoot sup greenly, so that we look like Ireland. Well, almost.

Speaking of which, we had a little part for Msgr. Cahalane before he went on his annual trip home. This is the fiftieth anniversary of his Ordination, so his well-beloved parish gave him a Big, Sacred Blow-out. We were invited, but being cloistered, and liking small gatherings, we held our own party here.

Cathy will pronounce her Solemn Monastic Vows on Saturday. She is a transfer from the Missionary Sisters of Korea, and her mother, her sister, and her brother-in-law are coming. They are, as a matter of fact, on the plane right now. The abbot of Holy trinity Abbey in Utah has come to offer the Mass, and we will have another practice of the ceremony tomorrow.

Vicki, our lovely superior, will be going on her private Retreat as soon as I get back from a Meeting on the 17th.

Life will return to normal sometime in August. Actually, we will be following our normal life of prayer, work, laughter and minor crises all along, but we do like to have everyone aboard.

The raven has become very tame, having been fed regularly by fr Matthew during his Holy Week and Easter stay as chaplain. The lady raven is missing so she may be nesting.

Our friend, Sr Marie Chantal of the Brooklyn Visitation, has become a privileged part of a new community their regional superiors set up in order to provide a new ambience for young vocations. The two founders are sharing space at the Georgetown Visitation, to which they have been warmly welcomed. The Visitation has a beautiful spirit, fostered by its founders, St Francis de Sales and St Jane de Chantal. They live out a life of community enhanced by the “little virtues: humility, patience, sisterly charity, and of course, prayer.” We keep them in our prayer of sisterly love.

There has been a fire over the mountains. The fire-fighters are magnificent people, full of courage and generosity. With so much bad news in the media, isn’t it wonderful that we have these heroes in our midst. The son of one of our friends has joined the Hot Shots, who are the elite of fire-fighters, and do a lot of flying to dump retardant. This last fire has to be hand-fought though, and with back fires. We watched smoke, and prayed; no one was hurt, and no property destroyed. Unlike the tornados in Oklahoma. God bless everyone, and we will be back soon.