- - -spring, college, fr. paul, and laetare - - -
Spring is officially here at last! Hopefully, we can leave behind the frigid rain and clouds of last week and start moving into some warmer weather. Overall, life has been going pretty well these past couple of weeks. There have been some times recently when I've been feeling sort of down, for reasons I don't entirely understand, but people have always been there to make me feel better, even if they did not necessarily know what they were doing. My brothers are a true gift from God. Like it says in Sirach, they are a priceless treasure to me. No sum can balance their worth.
My parents and I met with Sister Pat for our college planning meeting last week. Afterwards, we both agreed that it was a waste of time. I like Sister Pat, but I also think she drags things out and makes them more complicated than they need to be. I'm really not worried about the college situation, so I'll just take things as they come. I also went to the college fair at Georgetown Prep on Thursday. Mike and Jimmy were there too. It was so crowded with people that you really had to muscle your way through the crowd. I was able to talk with the admissions lady from Scranton for about ten minutes. She said they'd probably offer me at least $10,000-12,000 a year if I applied. That scholarship added to the Archdiocese's discount would mean that I could probably go to college there essentially for free. Nice. I also looked at the tables for Boston College, Fairfield, Loyola, and Fordham. All seemed like nice places. We'll just have to see how it goes.
I was having breakfast with Father Paul yesterday and found this old ceborium I hadn't noticed before sitting in a dusty corner of the counter. I joked that perhaps he was using it as a mint container, but apparently it had just been forgotten there. It's gold on the base and up the stem with a dark blue basin rising to a gold lid topped with a cross. Beneath the rust and dust, it's probably very beautiful. Father let me take it home, and I'm working on restoring it. If I can fix it up, we'll be able to use it on Holy Thursday for the procession to the altar of repose. Of course, it'll be veiled for most of that anyway. Talking with Father Paul always gives me hope. He's a honest guy and has no qualms about facing reality in all its seeming bitterness and despair; however, he's able to see the great potential for good that's out there. It's choice the resides in each person, and each man's decision has a large affect on everyone else, even if it may not seem so. That's definitely a good thing to keep in mind: how the consequences of our decisions, good or bad, do not stay with us but spread out to touch other people as well.
Today is Laetare Sunday, a day of rejoicing and happy anticipation of the coming Easter, the mystery of our salvation. Looking forward to the approaching joy of Easter, now is the time to redouble our Lenten penances, turn away from the sins which still remain habitual in our lives, make amends for what we have done wrong, and most importantly, in my opinion, to strive to love more deeply our brothers, sisters, and our Savior. Like goodness, love is not simply emotions or good intentions, it is a choice. This choice finds its greatest expression in the actions we take. Rather than just telling our brothers, sisters, and Savior that we love them, let's show them.
Inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in Te.
My parents and I met with Sister Pat for our college planning meeting last week. Afterwards, we both agreed that it was a waste of time. I like Sister Pat, but I also think she drags things out and makes them more complicated than they need to be. I'm really not worried about the college situation, so I'll just take things as they come. I also went to the college fair at Georgetown Prep on Thursday. Mike and Jimmy were there too. It was so crowded with people that you really had to muscle your way through the crowd. I was able to talk with the admissions lady from Scranton for about ten minutes. She said they'd probably offer me at least $10,000-12,000 a year if I applied. That scholarship added to the Archdiocese's discount would mean that I could probably go to college there essentially for free. Nice. I also looked at the tables for Boston College, Fairfield, Loyola, and Fordham. All seemed like nice places. We'll just have to see how it goes.
I was having breakfast with Father Paul yesterday and found this old ceborium I hadn't noticed before sitting in a dusty corner of the counter. I joked that perhaps he was using it as a mint container, but apparently it had just been forgotten there. It's gold on the base and up the stem with a dark blue basin rising to a gold lid topped with a cross. Beneath the rust and dust, it's probably very beautiful. Father let me take it home, and I'm working on restoring it. If I can fix it up, we'll be able to use it on Holy Thursday for the procession to the altar of repose. Of course, it'll be veiled for most of that anyway. Talking with Father Paul always gives me hope. He's a honest guy and has no qualms about facing reality in all its seeming bitterness and despair; however, he's able to see the great potential for good that's out there. It's choice the resides in each person, and each man's decision has a large affect on everyone else, even if it may not seem so. That's definitely a good thing to keep in mind: how the consequences of our decisions, good or bad, do not stay with us but spread out to touch other people as well.
Today is Laetare Sunday, a day of rejoicing and happy anticipation of the coming Easter, the mystery of our salvation. Looking forward to the approaching joy of Easter, now is the time to redouble our Lenten penances, turn away from the sins which still remain habitual in our lives, make amends for what we have done wrong, and most importantly, in my opinion, to strive to love more deeply our brothers, sisters, and our Savior. Like goodness, love is not simply emotions or good intentions, it is a choice. This choice finds its greatest expression in the actions we take. Rather than just telling our brothers, sisters, and Savior that we love them, let's show them.
Inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in Te.