Everyone but Br. Charles traveled for Christmas. Br. John and Matt Beben for New Jersey and
Travis Wain for Schenectady, New York on the 20th of December, John
Petrullo for Staten Island on the 21st and Br. Bob for Minneapolis,
Minnesota on the 22nd.
No fear for Br. Charles; he had a happy Christmas here
spending the day with Srs. Nancy Hale, Pauline O’Reilly and Maura Donovan
having a lovely meal with them, and being sent home, as he duly reported, with
several days worth of everything from
muffins to turkey and trimmings.
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| Communication [the dishwasher died and we had to replace it. This was during the interim.] |
We were all back the weekend after Christmas and only one
was left at the airport because someone else changed the arrival times. But all was calm and bright by New Years
Day. For the eve, we had dinner at the
house and with the elders tucked safe in their beds, the younger could go and
experience the revelry, fireworks and crowds in Jackson Square.
On New Year’s Day we drove out to Resurrection of Our
Lord Parish on Hammond Street, off of Read Boulevard in New Orleans East to
celebrate with Fr. Michael Joseph Nguyen and friends, including Colleen and
Anthony LaRocca and the latest addition to their clan, Cole Davis, son of
Caroline LaRocca Davis and Glen Davis.
The new baby was the happy center of attention and seemed to take it all
in.
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| Caroline and Glen with Colt [in the arms of Fr. Michael Joseph] contemplating celery! |
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| Note who is holding the goody bag as we depart |
After New Year’s, John Petrullo made a ministry
transition, and began at Lantern Light Ministries with the Sisters of the
Presentation and Br. Charles. John’s
computer and organizational skills, and the presence of a young man in a
ministry that deals primarily with homeless men, have been welcomed by the
Sisters and their co-workers, and John will be able now to participate in the
AmeriCorps program.
We decided to celebrate Epiphany with a community brunch,
prepared by the volunteers and shared by us all. Matt, John and Travis did a superb job on a
multitude of dishes—this being said so they’ll do it again. It was especially nice because they were able
to use a multitude of pots and pans, and a grill, so no appliances felt left out.
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| What's a cookbook? |
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| Chef at work |
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| Now what do I do? |
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| Collaboration |
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| Brunch begins! |
Meanwhile, Fr. Michael Joseph was on the lookout for the
Volunteer Community so that we could replace one of the cars we had to
retire. Through his good offices and
incredible negotiating skills we were able to get a great buy on a used Toyota
Camry which actually did have only one owner and is in great shape. Father has been a wonderful help and resource
to us—and keeps us supplied with wonderful French bread, too—but that is a
story for another day.
Our January weather has been marked by spells of warm,
wet days, and cold wet days. The roses
look good, and some of Caitlyn, Kyle and Vincent’s Carolina jasmine is in
bloom.
The Mardi Gras Season begins AFTER the feast of the
Baptism of the Lord, and only then can one honorably indulge in “King Cake”—which
is rather like a wonderful coffee cake with lots of sugary icing in the
principle Mardi Gras colors: Green sugar crystals [Faith], purple [Justice] and
yellow/gold [Power and Wealth.] So now
you know.
Our ministries continue, in schools, parishes, homeless
centers, and construction non-profits.
A recent article in a Province Newsletter talked about
one of Br. John’s occasional activities: facilitation of groups. It requires the ability to really listen
carefully and not talk too much, but rather to rely on the wisdom of the
group. [A bit of a stretch for him, you
say] This was a retreat for school
leaders, in the desert. Of course, it
was the desert next to Las Vegas, but at any rate. . .
And did you know we have an artist among us. His painting of a street lamp in the French
Quarter was good enough that no one at first realized he did it—not until
someone noticed the initials “JP” and the date, “2013”. He has, however, refused requests for
portraits—so far.
Blog 01.15.13
