Never a dull moment!
The temperature will plummet into the 40’s tonight and may only go to
the high 50’s tomorrow so everyone in New Orleans [especially the weather
forecasters] are rejoicing in this winter weather—it feels so much like
Christmas! Well it does if you live this far South. I kid
you not.
Our Advent wreath is out and the Christmas tree is up. The volunteers, directed by alumna Molly
Sherry, put the tree up but only put on ornaments that already had hooks
attached. They never opened the Christmas
box on the top of the ornaments that contained the hooks. Never mind, it will give visitors occupation
while they are here. And Br. John has
purchased boxes of hooks for every end table drawer in the living room.
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| Molly Sherry makes sugar cookies, Matt and Travis lend support. |
Br. John spent the week in schools; some coaching visits
which last an hour or so, but some involve twice that time in travel, or
Discovery Walks which take three to four hours, exclusive of travel. And then the reports to type.
On Tuesday evening Sr. Monica Gundler came for dinner and to
facilitate our community discussion; this was the second of four visits.
Wednesday, the 5th, we went out to
Resurrection of Our Lord in East New Orleans for a wonderful shrimp
dinner. Fr. MichaelJoseph Nguyen and
Colleen Larocca made all the arrangements; her husband, Anthony, her daughter
Caroline, her son-in-law Glen Davis and their 5 month old, Colt were
there. Colt is one of those incredibly
serene children who seem to accept the adulation of the crowd as quite natural and
only their due! Msgr. Henry Englebrecht,
our Pastor at St. Henry’s years ago, Msgr.Earl Gautreaux, the principal of the
elementary school and friends of the parish were there also. We managed to eat lots of shrimp and
wonderful Vietnamese French bread and to spirit away a generous portion of
Colleen’s bread pudding which is simply extraordinary.
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| Matt and John at Resurrection of Our Lord--later that same evening--sugar cookies! |
Barry Lynch, our Province visitor, met with each of the
Brothers during the week and got to see Br. Bob, Br. Charles, Matt Beben, John
Petrullo and Travis Wain at their ministry sites during the week. We had a final meeting with Barry and the
Brothers on Friday evening before our usual pizza from Theo’s around the
corner. We bring it in—lazy!
Friday night the volunteers went off to the
French Quarter and snow on Fulton Street; Saturday night it was over to Algiers
Point for a ‘bonfire’—a tradition among Creoles along the Mississippi lighting
the path of Papa Noel at Christmas.
Saturday the 8th we hosted a meeting of the “Newcomers”;
religious who have come to New Orleans since Katrina. We gathered in the big assembly room
downstairs under the portrait of Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt for prayer,
some conversation then a shared meal upstairs.
We hosted 15 Sisters; from the Congregation of the Holy Faith, Sisters
of Notre Dame [Cleveland], a Cabrini, and Daughters of Charity among others.
On Sunday we suffered with Saints fans everywhere over the
loss to the Giants, then the internet was weak and the dishwasher died. However, we live in hope.
We recall Scarlett O’Hara who reminds us: “After all... tomorrow is another day.”
A thought from Thomas Merton:
“The Advent mystery
is the beginning of the end of all in us
that is not yet
Christ.”
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