Donkey Days

The day before Ignite Your Torch, Joseph hung out at the cousins' place and helped with the farm chores.

Without intending to do so, I managed to make a real donkey of myself on several (back to back) occasions lately involving travel plans and coordinating slightly complicated schedules and routes.  In each instance, I was reminded of the importance of proper research and effective communication for an orderly and peaceful existence.

Cousin Sawyer hangs out with Boomer and Buster.

Donkey move #1:
Nearly botched an evening highway rendezvous with Tim, Joseph and Peter, after failing to properly communicate the exact location of our intended meet-up.
Back-story:
In order for Zachary to be properly prepared to volunteer as an Ignite Your Torch 'green shirt' we had to visit St. Mary's in Anacortes for a Safe Environment training a few hours before departure for the conference.  Unfortunately, this mandatory training conflicted with the weekly Boy Scout meeting, and so in order to include Joseph and Peter in the trip, we had to arrange for Tim to drive them to us before our hurry down Interstate 5 to the ferry in Edmonds.  However, I forgot to tell my husband that we would meet him right near I5 & Hwy 20, to save him driving the extra twenty minutes to Anacortes. So as Zachary and I were speeding along toward the (can't you read my mind) meet-up location, I happened to spot Tim and his unsuspecting passengers speeding along Highway 20 in the opposite direction.  Oops.  Thank goodness for cell phones and patient husbands.

Godson Samuel and Aileen spend a sunny summer day with us at the cousins' house.

Donkey move #2: 
Drove many miles and about half an hour out of our way to avoid a road closure and ended up driving directly TO the closed road (at about midnight).
Back-story:
About an hour before our departure for Zac's training at St. Mary's (with our final destination that night being Uncle Craig's house in Silverdale for a combined 2-night visit and Ignite Your Torch carpool destination from the nearby Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Bremerton early the next morning), I received a text message from Aunt Bethany advising us to "take the C.C. Road" route to their house, due to a road closure on the 'other side.'  Rather than pulling up a map to identify the correct route, I assumed that my sister in law was sending me around to the 'other side', not the side from which we always approach. WRONG-O.  At nearly midnight, after the three hour journey, we pulled right up to the closed road.  Nice driving, huh?  Thank goodness for cell phones and patient relatives.

See the resemblance?

Donkey move #3:
Missed the Southworth ferry bound for West Seattle by mere minutes, forcing us to rearrange our plans to visit Grandma to wish her a happy 96th birthday, and adding another night to our journey.
Back-story:
On the Feast of Saint Dominic, after our stay with the cousins (having sent both Zachary and Joseph off to the conference via Star of the Sea carpool and bus respectively), Peter and I headed toward Seattle, excited to join the annual Dominican Extraordinary Form Mass at Blessed Sacrament in Seattle.  With many different ferry routes from which to choose, we opted to take the Southworth-Fauntleroy to allow for a stop-over at my Grandma's house for an early dinner celebrating her upcoming 96th birthday.  Unfortunately, I did not take the time to properly plan our approach to Southworth, and consquently took the VERY long way to the ferry.  This also happened to be the VERY beautiful way, with the windy road hugging the coast line through Port Orchard and on and on an on to the little ferry passage.  When we arrived at the dock, the boat was still in sight, but the next one wouldn't be seen for an hour.  We called Tim first to consult, then asked Grandma if we could stay the night after attending Mass and visit with her the next day before driving home to Bellingham.  Grandma, a consummate hostess, put out quite the breakfast spread for us the next day, and we did enjoy a leisurely visit without any time constraints.  (And the Dominican Mass was truly Extraordinary!  There is something indescribably beautiful about Sacred Music...)  Thank goodness for cell phones and understanding Grandmas and husbands.

Samuel and Weston enjoy the fine sport of downhill rock running.

Peter reads to Saywer.

Donkey move #4:
Gave Grandpa Pete a nightmare of a commute, collecting Joseph and Zachary from the conference.
Back-story:
My dad recently expressed his hope of a northern-area gathering before Zachary returns to Notre Dame in a few weeks.  Enlisting him to collect the boys from Olympia and meet up with us and the other relatives in Anacortes had the potential to make his dream a reality.  However, the dream became a nightmare when their departure from the conference was delayed by over an hour and the traffic through the Tacoma-Seattle-Everett area resembled a horrific rush hour rather than a sunny Sunday. 

Cousins Violet, Sawyer and Weston feed Boomer and Buster.

Donkey move #5:
Drove straight to the wrong grocery store in Anacortes to meet up with the cousins coming from the San Juan Islands ferry to the family gathering.
Back-story:
On speaker phone receiving the news of the disastrous Olympia to Anacortes drive and subsequent hour+ delay to the restaurant in Anacortes, I missed Tim's subtle suggestion to exit the highway to reach the meet-up spot at Safeway from where we would lead the California cousins to dinner.  I drove DIRECTLY to a different grocery store, having assumed I knew right where we were going.  Thankfully, Tim DID know exactly where we were supposed to meet, and kindly re-directed me to the correct spot, where we did rendezvous with the California cousins and we did (eventually) find the hidden away restaurant and enjoy a wonderful seaside meal together with a host of wonderful relatives, enjoying stories from the conference and being reunited with our boys.  The End.

German Travels 'Ende'

An after Mass with the bros pose on Zachary's 19th birthday; outside Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Bellingham

After a month's stay in Munich for German studies at the Goethe Institut, and a grueling 24 hour trip home via Vancouver, BC, Zachary landed on US soil a few hours before his 19th birthday (PST).  Clean-shaven and nearly twenty pounds lighter due to a schedule that was light on cooking and heavy on walking, Zachary stepped off the adventure trail and back into life at home.

Castle view in Heidelberg, Germany

Souvenirs in tow, Zachary gifted each of us with a few treats, including sporty gear celebrating the 2013 UEFA Champions League winning soccer 'FC Bayern Munchen' football team and a beautiful Rosary from the Basilica in Munich.  So sweet.  A little board book he brought for the young cousins will likely bring many smiles; although the words are foreign, the cartoon-ish images of animals making doo will be easily understood and enjoyed without textual support.

Old jail cell for naughty students at University of Heidelberg, Germany

Castle damage from French canon ball, Heidelberg, Germany

World's largest wine cask, Heidelberg, Germany

All aboard for Zachary's 19th birthday celebration on the shores of Lake Whatcom

We showered Zac with birthday love on Sunday, celebrating his 19th birthday at a breakfast out with Grandma Billie and Grandpa Cliff after Mass, and a dinner party with the same great company +1 in the evening at their lake-front home.  Zachary shared the 50+ photos of his month abroad on Grandma's big-screen iPhoto, and his narrated slide show gave us insight into his travels and daily German experiences. 

Scheming for a return trip to Germany for a lengthier study abroad is already underway, but we are celebrating these precious days of having our family all together at home (and around) before Zac returns to Notre Dame for sophomore studies in late August.

Profession of Passionist Vows {Sister Cecilia Maria}

Sister Cecilia Maria wears the white veil of a novice in the chapel cloister at St. Joseph Passionist Monastery, KY

Thirteen hours of travel (4 driving; half in a rental car from Tennessee to Kentucky) brought me my hotel in Owensboro at about midnight.  Twelve hours later I was on my way to St. Joseph Monastery, arriving early for the 1:30 Mass of Religious Profession for my friend Sister Cecilia Maria.

Following the Liturgy of the Word, including an exceptional homily by Father Rodger Hunter Hall, the Rite of Religious Profession began as Bishop Medley called Sister Cecilia’s name.  She stepped forward for the examination, “In your desire to follow Christ Crucified more perfectly, are you resolved to cherish in your heart a loving and grateful remembrance of the mystery of the Passion, and to express it in your life, observing consecrated chastity for the sake of the kingdom, embracing voluntary poverty, offering to God the gift of your obedience, and observing enclosure?”   

To this examination, Sister Cecilia replied, “I am so resolved.”

Sister Cecilia Maria responds to the examination by Bishop Medley as the Rite of Religious Profession begins.

Bishop Medley led the congregation in solemn prayers for God’s grace for Sister Cecilia Maria, after which she made her profession of vows.  Sister spoke her vows with great conviction, kneeling before her Superior, Mother Catherine Marie, seated at the foot of the altar. As Prioress of the Passionist Nuns at St. Joseph Monastery, Mother appeared jubilant and deeply peaceful, tenderly speaking her acceptance of Sister Cecilia’s vows with such love.

Mother Catherine Marie receives Sister Cecilia Maria's profession of vows. 

Sister Cecilia Maria receives her new black veil from Mother Catherine Marie.

Newly professed as a Passionist Nun, Sister Cecilia Maria received a black veil and Passionist ring, signifying her marriage to Christ Crucified.  The Passionist sign was placed on her habit over her heart as a constant reminder of her Divine Spouse and the sorrows of His holy Mother.  A crown of thorns set upon her head and a simple cross positioned on her back, Bishop Medley bid her to be faithful to her vows and to follow Christ in humility, obedience and self-denial.  Together with her sisters, she sang “Veni, Sponsa Christi” (Come Spouse of Christ), a love song.   

The Lord of lords holds your life in His embrace.  The King of kings fills your soul with His own grace…

Sister's new black veil proclaims that she belongs entirely to Christ.

Sister appeared in that moment as a living icon on fire with divine love.

Through tears of joy I photographed these moments as best I could without moving from my pew or causing too much distraction.

Wearing a crown of thorns as a reminder to follow Christ in humility, obedience and self-denial, Sister prepares to receive Holy Communion at her Mass of Religious Profession on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

The cloistered sisters’ heavenly liturgy and simple, holy music, with sung Latin responses (Sister Cecilia’s preference), created a slightly surreal ambiance at Mass.  A baptismal ‘river’ runs the entire length of the center isle of the monastery chapel ~ holy water breaking the ground to mark the nuns' enclosure.  At the presentation of the gifts, the sisters processed on one side of the holy river and Sister Cecilia’s mom and grandma processed on the opposite side of the isle.  Sister Cecilia crossed out of the enclosure within the sanctuary at the sign of peace, at which time her parents, grandmother, and close friends approached her for an embrace.  

Bishop Medley incenses the gifts and the altar, at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer.

Holy water flows through the center isle of the monastery chapel.

Gustav Holst’s “O God Beyond All Praising,” the recessional march and closing hymn, played expertly by Sister Cecilia Maria's younger sister, Whitney, on violin, happened to be the same song to which their parents had recessed on their wedding day. How fitting that their daughter’s wedding song would voice theirs:   

And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still; to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways, and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.