Anyone seen March?

I cannot believe how quickly the time is getting away from me! Nor can I believe how busy it has been over the past couple weeks - sorry for leaving you hanging on the updates!!

To say the least, it's been eventful. When I left you last, I was preparing for Palm Sunday and the big World Youth Day even that was to take place. It was a success, and I quite enjoyed the day, schmoozing with the Cardinal and the bishops of Sydney. The day mostly consisted of a concert, and the headliner was a Catholic recording artist named Gary Pinto. He co-wrote the WYD song "Receive the Power" and wrote and performs the song "Behold the Cross", for the Journey of the WYD Cross and Icon. That's one of my favorite songs. I met him after the concert and then took him to Mass - he is such a humble man, and very friendly! It was quite enjoyable to meet him! That night after the Palm Sunday Mass, which was very crowded because of the construction they're doing in the Cathedral (half the church cannot be used), the Cardinal took the team and others out to dinner at this Italian restaurant near where we live. It was so lovely, both to spend time with the Cardinal (like I hadn't seen him enough throughout the day! haha) and the food was great! The Italian man who owned the restaurant we ate at must have been Catholic because he recognized the Cardinal, and he took all our menus and said, "I get you the special!" So the plates of food kept coming, from all the appetizers we could want to every pasta dish the restaurant must have had - it was SO lovely, and to top it off, at the end of the meal they brought each of us gelato! yummmm :) Two of the waitresses at different points during the night came up and sheepishly said hello to the Cardinal - we felt like we were dining with a celebrity! Despite the exhaustion we were all feeling from the day, it was a success and ended well.

Nothing too exciting that Monday except a bit of recuperation from the weekend, and planning for the retreat we had Tuesday. It was for a group of year 8 boys at a nice school in North Sydney. It went well, but wasn't our best retreat. Eh. We enjoyed a quick debrief on the shores of the harbor, and then I jetted off to the city for Mass and dinner with a friend.

That Wednesday, I finally got the opportunity to see the World Youth Day Cross and Icon. It spent the day circulating the universities and ended the day at Notre Dame University, just down the road from Sydney Uni, where I attended last semester. There were testimonies from a few people I knew, including Sister Mary Madeline, a Dominican sister of St. Cecilia from Nashville! (there are three of them from that order here), and each talk was beautiful - I was in tears most of the time! That's the thing about the Cross - it makes people cry for no other reason necessarily than for the beauty and love of God. I was asked to write a very short article about my experience of the Cross, and I've copied it just below - it pretty well sums up my Easter weekend with the Cross.

"Two planks of smooth, varnished wood bolted together stood looming over the nearly empty pews of Saint Benedict’s at Notre Dame. I was finally standing in the midst of this great symbol of God’s love and humility. I knew that the journey of this Cross had taken it to every corner of the world, and that millions of people had touched it, kissed it – embraced it – in its powerful message, but for the moment, none of that mattered. It was only me, in the quiet presence of the Lord, in the soft shadow of His sacrifice. I couldn’t stop the tears as I listened to the testimonies - the Cross, in all its universality, became very personal. Jesus died on the Cross for me: the reality of it was overwhelming.
I stood in the presence of the Cross three more times over the Easter weekend, and again and again felt overwhelmed by its power. I cried as the little children of a primary school venerated the cross with such simple love and sincerity, and I shuddered as the Cross stood humbly amidst thousands of Maronites, Middle Eastern Catholics, on Good Friday, praying in foreign tongues. On its last stop in Sydney, as the Cross brought servicemen to their knees at Garden Island, a naval base on Sydney Harbor, I realized that while physically, the Cross was leaving Sydney, it remains always here, and everywhere it has been, in the hearts of those who have touched it and felt the power of its love. What a grace to have been one of those people."

After the event at Notre Dame, I caught up with some friends from Sydney Uni over a quick dinner, and then headed home. Thursday was busy - we spent the morning at a primary school with the Cross, and once we were home, I rushed around to get everything done before I headed off to spend the weekend with Jovina. We were meant to meet in the city and she would drive us to her house, but that morning she had overslept and had to take the train in to work. Well, long story short, we were going to have to get on the train at two separate stops, and she had this crazy plan of exactly what train we would get on - second carriage, second door from the front. That way we would meet up. It was an exciting test of our public transportation skills, and it was even more exciting when it worked! I got on first, and just two stops later, Jovi appeared on the other side of the doors - haha it started off the weekend on an interesting foot! That night we just went to Mass at her parish, then Elise came over to Jovi's house and we chatted the night away over cups of tea. Jovi's mom, Evenlyn, had this herbal tea that I decided to try and it was the most interesting combination of sweet fennel, licorice root, peppermint, and basil! After one sip, I LOVED it, but after half a cup, I couldn't take it anymore. It had a strange burst of flavor after the tea had been swallowed. One of those things that makes you go, "wow! hmmm...."

anyway....

Friday, Good Friday, was the best Good Friday I've ever had. We woke up and it was raining (it always is) and went to the Stations of the Cross, where the WYD Cross was among the Maronite community. We went back to Jovi's after and watched the Passion, and then went to Mass at a church that still says the Latin Mass. So for 2 1/2 hours, we listened to sung Latin. It sounds ridiculous, but I actually loved it. It was so solemn and reverent. Even though I was tired and almost fell asleep a couple times, it was by far my favorite Good Friday service. We headed home to eat a lite dinner (seafood! yum) and then went back to the same church for Latin night prayer called Tenebrae, which is a Latin word for "shadows". It's a beautiful prayer said only on Good Friday and it's about 2 hours long. The entire church was only illuminated by candles and one by one the candles at the front are extinguished throughout the sung Latin. Eventually the entire church is in darkness except for the light of one candle, and during a very quiet period at the end, suddenly everyone starts rumbling their hands on the pew in front of them. Imagine, being in a dark church and hearing that! It's terrifying!! I'll admit I started crying, one because I'm afraid of the dark, but two because it was so overwhelming - in both a good and bad way. The entire prayer is meant to represent Christ's wake, and the rumbling can either be interpreted as the earthquake that occurred when Christ died OR the sound of the stone being rolled away from His tomb. Either way, it scared me, but it also made the Easter mystery that much more real.

So Good Friday was spent praying in several churches, praying in languages other than English, and while exhausting, it was well worth it. That night I received a call from Tajana, one of the beautiful women who works at the chapliancy at Sydney Uni. She was getting married on Easter Monday (I was all set to attend the wedding) and she wanted to invite me to the reception afterwards. She said she had the freedom with her guest list to do that - well she didn't need to ask me twice! I was really hoping I would get to go, so it was such a blessing to get that phone call! However, then came the problem of what to wear?!? So Jovi and I had a fashion show of everything in her closet, and finally found a dress that worked perfectly. The only problem was I didn't have any shoes (shocker, I know).

So the next morning I woke up to go shopping with Jovi after she had a haircut. I didn't quite get up in time to get to the hair appointment with her, so she said Evelyn (her mom) would just bring me to meet up with her. Except that Evelyn misunderstood and we went to a different shopping centre all together! Good thing I love Jovi's mom! haha - it was nice, spending the morning shopping with her, and I found a cheap pair of black heels to go quite well with the dress. Thank the Lord!

We spent the rest of the day getting ready for the festivities that night. Elise and Dave, two of our good friends, were making their First Communion and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil. Elise was raised a devout Penecostal and Dave was baptised an Anglican, but together they converted to the Catholic faith - it was so exciting to witness! Many people turned up to support them, including their families - which is saying a lot because Elise, especially, doesn't have any support from them whatsoever. I thought it was very nice that they came anyway. Seeing the struggles Elise is having with her family makes me very grateful for my own family and the support I have always been given. It was a lovely evening, and after the party, there was a mini after-party at Jovi's, but by the time 2:30 am rolled around, I was pretty beat and was begging people to go home so we could go to bed! haha They were all happy to oblige, as they were tired as well.

Sunday, Jovi and I decided we would sleep in until we woke up, which we expected would be around 10am or so. NOPE - we woke up at noon. oops! And we had a baptism to go to at 2pm. It ended up being more of a rushed "morning" than we expected! But Jovina and Evelyn were extremely sweet in that as I awoke, they both came into my room and presented me with some chocolates and an Easter hug and kiss! Also, the night before, Dave and his family had given me some Easter chocolates since I didn't have family around - how thoughtful of them! It was such an unexpected but very joyous surprise to receive that support. It made Easter quite a bit easier to handle, since I was thinking so much of home and family.

So off we ran to the baptism of Lucy Brigid McKenna, the baby of a lady who works in the Life office with Jovi and does quite a lot of work around Sydney for Pro-Life causes. It was a beautiful Easter baptism and little Lucy was so precious! After the reception, Jovi and I took a walk around a bit of the harbor, then headed off to a friend's house, where a lot of us just met up to have a bit of an Easter get together. Nothing too exciting, just something to do!

Monday was a very busy day, very long day. Jovi and I got up at 6 am! to get ready, because our first stop for the day was the Journey of the Cross and Icon event at the naval base at Garden Island, but straight from there we had to go to Tajana's wedding at the Cathderal and then to the reception, so we had to be ready from the start. The event at Garden Island was simple but very beautiful, and the Mass finished early enough for us to go grab some lunch before the wedding Mass, which was incredible. It was by far one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen, and the couple getting married, Tajana and Richard, are such devout Catholics, which makes it even better. Richard's brother, Michael, better known to many as Fr. Michael (my spiritual director) celebrated the Mass with FIVE other priests, PLUS one of the bishops AND the Cardinal in attendance. Not to mention the several Brothers who were there, and a few nuns as well! The reception, located at a remote but gorgeous seaside golf club, was also sprinkled with religious. It was beautiful as well, and I knew Tajana had been very stressed leading up to the big day, but it was so worth it. Jovi and I drove one of the priests to and from the reception and he said it was one of the best weddings he had ever been to. Isn't that lovely? I was so happy to get to go. AND, I got to see Gary Pinto again! He was seated right next to me at our table for dinner! He also sang - must be nice to have very talented friends to sing at your wedding reception! By the time I got home, I was entirely exhausted from such a long but wonderful weekend, and just fell into bed straight away.

Tuesday I just lazed about as we worked on our retreat for Wednesday - I couldn't believe how tired I was! The retreat then went well on Wednesday, and was held at an RSL club - I'm still not sure what that stands for, but it reminded me of a country club or something. Anyway, the retreat was for year 8 boys. They were alright.

I spent Thursday morning working towards the retreat we had that weekend for the French community, and that afternoon, drove to a meeting with Rachel and Leoni, our team manager, for the Journey of the Cross and Icon in the high schools, which is this coming Monday and Tuesday (April 7&8) - the CYS team was asked to do a short skit and our JESUS chant (always a crowd favorite!) so we needed to attend this meeting to see just how the event would be run. Well I say I drove because I did, and it just so happens that by New South Wales license regulations, because I am just a visitor here (as in anything but a permanent resident) my Indiana license is valid! So that's good, that I haven't been driving around illegally! (I don't think) Wouldnt' that be horrible if one day I was pulled over and arrested for driving on an illegitimate license? EEK! Haha I'm sure it's fine, don't worry, Dad!! :) O and Tom was with us so it's fine. Tom as in "tom-tom", the GPS himself. Good friend.

Friday was very busy with the preparations for the French retreat, as well as the two other retreats we had the following Monday and Tuesday - talk about a hectic time! I was busy working on a drama for the year 6&7 students most of the time, and I have to say, it was quite stressful! Even though drama is my forte, I can't magically make the other people on team good actors, so it was a struggle trying to work with someone inexperienced - mostly because the drama we were performing was very intense. But it went well on the day, as did the rest of the retreat.

What it was, was a retreat with the French community, something like a parish retreat, so not for a school. There were about 30 kids, ranging in age from year 6 to year 10, so about 10 to 15. Leaving the house at 7am and arriving home at 1am made for a long day, but it was by far the most enjoyable experience I've had yet in ministry. Since it was a small group, we got to know all of them pretty well by the end of the day, as well as their parents, who had also come along to help out. We took each year group, one at a time, so it was with just a few kids in each session, but that was much better - it was more personal that way. The retreat took place in an area called Mittigong, which is way out in the countryside. It was beautiful there!! The sky was so clear, the sunset was brilliant, and the stars were amazingly bright.

Now of course, I studied French in high school for about three years, but I don't remember too much...however, a bit of it was definitely coming back as I listened to the kids and their parents chatter away in the beautiful language all day. It made me want to re-learn it! It also made me want to go to France...hmm, next stop on my tour of world domination? Stay tuned! haha

On Sunday, we were invited to attend their French Mass, which was lovely- if for no other reason than to see the retreatants again, and also to hear the Mass in French - it's amazing how easy it is to follow along, even though it is in a different language!

Now that Sunday was also Divine Mercy Sunday, so I went down to the Cathedral for the Divine Mercy Mass, which was probably a mistake - it was a very long Mass, and I was feeling awful by the end of it, from fatigue, probably dehydration, hunger...Plus I was a bit stressed because we had THREE retreats coming up that week, so there wasn't going to be much relief, but after I ate some dinner and watched a movie (in preparation for the retreat, of course!) I felt much better.

The retreat Monday was very hectic, but went well. The girls were very energetic - year 8, all-girls school. Keeps us on our toes! After the long day had finished, a few of us went to Mass at the Cathedral for the feast of the Annunciation, where we ran into Sister Mary Rachel, one of the three Dominican Sisters from Nashville here in Sydney - they are working for WYD at the moment, and I think they may also bring their order here. Anyway, Sister said her family had come to visit her from Pittsburg and Virginia so she couldn't join us for our American dinner of the all-you-can-eat Pizza Hut buffet. Even though I didn't then have an American to share it with, at least it was an American meal (Aussie style) :) I'm a bit homesick!

Tuesday was the last in our series of retreats in a row at Mary McKillop Place - Mary McKillop is set to be Australia's first saint - right now she is just Blessed. She started the order of the Sisters of Saint Joseph here in Australia and was quite a pioneer in the area of indigenous education throughout Australia, especially in the Outback. Her story is amazing, and Mary McKillop Place is a museum about her life and works. So having a retreat there was nice! Leoni treated us to Starbucks that morning- yummm a taste of home!

After all that, I just sort of sat around at home that night, not doing much of anything, really. I was thankful to finally be able to check some emails and rest for a bit. Wednesday proved to be more of the same, rest and relaxation, but still getting some work done, because we had our last retreat of the first term on Friday, so we needed to get that prepared and out of the way. Leoni made the team lunch that day and guess what she cooked? MEXICAN!!! and I must say, it was quite tasty for being this side of the equator. That night, just went to Holy Hour at the Crypt, nothing terribly exciting.

Thursday wasn't much of anything either, except that I had to make dinner that night - guess what? I did it! I didn't cry, no one got sick or died, and it actually tasted good! I was very proud of myself - I'm being domesticated! And then today (saturday) I made myself bacon, eggs, and toast. Go ahead, laugh, because it sounds trite, but I am quite proud of my newly acquired confidence in the kitchen. We'll see if this keeps up. (Colleen, you would be SHOCKED!)

The retreat on Friday, again, went well overall, and I quite enjoyed the day because the high school we were at was right down the road from Sydney Uni, so I was familiar with the area, and the girls were very friendly - I really made a connection with them. They were in year 8. But, I was pooped after all of this, so I crashed into a three hour nap when we got home...of course that wasn't intentional, but hey, I wasn't complaining! Then I watched a couple movies and went back to bed :) Finally some rest!

This morning has been quite productive - I got up and took one of the guys to the airport, he is on his way to Perth, then I came back, did my chores, took a long walk with Justine (in-house pastoral care for the girls), then made myself breakfast for lunch, and took a really long shower. It's been wonderful. Just one more week of work then I get a two week break! Hopefully in that break I can catch up on some personal emails, some reading, and give home a call!! Maybe get out a little bit - a few friends have offered to take me on some day trips, so that might be quite lovely. At any rate, it should rejuvenate me!

I know it's been long, but I thank you if you're still reading at this point!

I'll just end it with an ironic fact about my Easter weekend. I spent most of the weekend at Masses, and I made it a point to get to Mass every day of Holy Week. I even went to Mass twice on Easter Monday! However, the irony of it is, of all these holy days, I didn't manage to get to Mass on the holiest of them all: Easter. But don't worry! The Easter vigil counted for our obligation...and then I made up for it on Easter Monday with two Masses...right?

Until I write again, may God bless you!