On the way back from Newport, Rhode Island, this afternoon, my family stopped in Noank, Connecticut for a New England lobster dinner. This is quiet New England seaside town is beautiful. As you can see, I enjoyed my lobster!
Recently in PAZ Category
Some have bats, we've got holes! Big, dangerous holes!The steeple on Saint Mary's Church, New Haven, CT, was damaged earlier today by high winds and a weakened structure.
The steeple was placed on the church for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Knights of Columbus in 1981/82. The addition of the steeple completed the overall design of the church which was halted at the time that original construction happened in the early 1870s. The Church was dedicated in 1874.
No one hurt with the pieces of flashing falling to the ground and Hillhouse Avenue was closed temporarily.
As a Catholic faith community in Protestant New Haven, Saint Mary's was established in 1832.
I spent a few hours today at Saint Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, MA, and then later in the day had lunch with a friend, Msgr. Robert Johnson in Worcester. It was beautifully sunny but incredibly cold.Spencer's abbey has always held a special place in my heart because of the beauty of the location --on top of a hill with rolling fields and lakes-- and because of friendship I share with some of the monks and the sacred Liturgy.
Saint Joseph's Abbey is a monastic house of monks of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO), the Trappists.
I even stopped by the Holy Rood Guild and purchased an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and a linen amice.
See the monks' blog that's periodically update, here.
Today is the 43rd wedding anniversary of my parents, Edward & Lynda.
God grant them many years!
Happy 69th birthday, Dad!
Abundant Blessings
(photo from a celebratory dinner last Saturday)
Yesterday morning my mother called me with the startling news that a second cousin on my father's side had died. Deborah was 42; because of a complicated family system I don't recall meeting her. Deborah's father is my father's cousin and we would see him every now-and-again. Deborah's death was kept a secret from family and friends; a proper Mass of Christian Burial with the prayerful solidarity of the family and friends is not happening. The ministrations of the Catholic Church were sidelined. The cross of addiction on which Deborah hung --which is known to many in this world-- was quite heavy, probably too heavy, for Deborah and for her family to carry. I am presuming that Deborah's death is and will continue to be for years to come an unfathomable puzzle --full of incredible pain and sorrow-- for the family and friends who survive. My also think that God mourns the loss of His daughter.
Where is God in the circumstances of Deborah's pain and ultimately in her death at 42? Looking at the history of humanity from the Christian perspective, suffering and death is not part of the divine plan. We are not made for suffering and death but we are faced with these things. The question of evil and suffering is known by Christianity as a struggle with the rebellious powers that enslave the world, like drug addiction, and the power of God's love. What God permits because of the supreme gift of our personal freedom often runs contrary to His will. Since we live in a biological world and our biology has natural limits and can't be sustained if it's oppressed by exterior forces (disease, addiction, diabetes, cancer, etc). Our human freedom is God's supreme gift to us and it allows us to say "Yes" to God or "No" to Him; God allows for the possibility free will to run contrary to what He wants for us. Sadly, we have made our autonomy a god and we would sacrifice anything for it on the altars of selfishness; sometimes our actions say we love death more than the gift of life. Man and woman love the word "No" in the face of living life to its fullest potential in God (and the Church). When the Church says drugs are bad for you, we say "let me use them."
As a Christian I believe that Deborah's life, not her death was tragic. Today she knows the fullness of who God is, today she knows His mercy and healing and today she knows intimately the embrace of His love.
Pray for those who struggle with addiction and for those who bear this cross alone. Pray that the community of faith will assist those left behind to know that they are loved by Jesus and by others. Pray that we use our freedom wisely. Pray for Deborah's peace for her family who survive to make sense of life now.
Give eternal rest, O Lord, to Deborah and let her share your glory.
Mom, Dad, Lauren and Aunt Gloria attended Mass today at Saint Rose of Lima Church and then we had a festive dinner a local Italian eatery: Father's Day 2009. Happy to have them visit me where I am living and working for the summer and to celebrate Dad. Peace!
Today is the sixth anniversary of death of my paternal grandmother, Helen Kawa Zalonski. He died on the afternoon of Ascension Thursday in 2003. She is very much missed. May her memory be eternal and may the Good Shepherd keep her in His presence.
(the picture is from my cousin's wedding in 2002. Gram is in the center of the motley crew.)
11 years ago today my maternal grandmother, Marian Barrett Leslie Grindell died at the age of 92. Then, as I do now, I thought that she'd be present to me forever. Biologically she died, but spiritually she remains close, true to what the Preface for the Mass of Christian Burial says, "life has changed, not ended." I prayed for her today, as did my my Mom, recognizing the distance in time and activities that have transpired since that day the Lord called.
May the Good Shepherd and the saints keep her, and may her memory be eternal.
(My aunt with her daughter, my cousin, Brooke, Easter 2005)
Today is the third anniversary of my Aunt Jeanne's death. Sadness is still with me and the family at her untimely death. The Mass will be offered for her tomorrow. May her soul rest in peace.
About the author
