Saturday, April 27, 2013

Two Fires

Right now, unattended, two fires are burning on the property. One is the campfire, where we burned our sins written on little slips of paper, an then made s'mores. The other is an alcohol and slat fire burning in a casserole dish in the grotto.

Sue and I just did a confirmation retreat for two teens who missed their regular retreat. I've never done a retreat for just two before! Lucky for us, they were engaged and willing to share when the occasion demanded it.

I smell of smoke. It really got in my hair I guess. I kind of like it. I like the earthy, salty, smoky kinds of prayer experiences. And sticky s'mores with ashes stuck in them. And those stupid cheap blue ballpoint pens that you have to force to write. And scraps of magazine clippings on the dining room floor. And pans with cold pizza cheese burnt onto them. It all spells teen retreat to me. It's me, being about My Father's business. It's the mission I'm given here. I'm glad to be here. It's like Catholic Heaven.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Piece of April

We had a few cool things happen this weekend. One picture is worth a thousand words, so I am saving about two thousand word here.

We had our second annual Couples Night. Sr. Sue cooked, since Diane couldn't make it. After the meal, they had a presentation from Don and Chris Paglia from the Archdiocesan Family Life Office.


During their presentation, the four of us pictured here washed all the dishes and pots and pans, which was quite a job. Then we had mass. and ended with wedding cake. Everyone had fun. We thought they'd never leave!

The other cool thing was the monthly Girls Cenacle meeting. We made "Spirit sticks." Usually the girls get to take their crafts home, but this time I needed them for our Pentecost mass next month at the Motherhouse. I promised to give them back to the girls if I get them back afterwards.