Summertime

Here's a weekly noon  time concert at the Erie Art Museum. Great group and great time! See them at the Sept. 16-17 Irish festival at St. Patrick's Church in Erie.

Here's my annual photo of the view I have from my office window in July--a beautifully blooming hydrangea and a type of clematis I think, behind our Blessed Mother statue in our inner courtyard. 

A few years ago in honor of Arbor Day another sister and I responded to an offer of free evergreen sprigs--tiny little 4-5" blue spruce or general fir trees. Low and behold, three of them have survived and today are about 15-18" tall and going strong. They were planted (after getting a 3-year start in a protected garden area) down at Glinodo along an already existing tree line. Here's one of them. No doubt in 10 years of so they will certainly be well on their way to matching the size of the ones all around them. Amazing!

Daniel Silva

A vacation week is time for reading--perhaps for you, too. And I mean real, physical books that you hold at the beach or in a lawn chair or in bed late at night!

This year I've found a new mystery, thriller series. As usual I'm coming in after over a dozen books have already been published, but that doesn't bother me! After reading the first one I've come upon, I just circle back and start at the beginning of the series and work my way to the present.

The author is Daniel Silva, his series began in 1996 and the books have been New York Times best sellers ever since--seven reaching #1. His "hero" is Gabriel Allon, an Israeli art restorer, spy and assassin. I enjoy the thriller/mystery part but I also enjoy books that expose the reader to other things on the sidelines--in this case the world of art restoration and the life of Jews in Israel.

So if you're a mystery buff and would like to see if you take to this new series, give Silva's fascinating character, Gabriel Allon, a try.

Memories

Between the ages of 13 and 17 I did a lot of babysitting...a lot. For a couple years it was to earn the money for a second week of summer camp and for the other years it was just to earn spending money for all the things your parents, rightly so, shouldn't pay for!

Those memories of long ago came rushing back as Anne's niece brought her daughter and son to be introduced to their great aunt. "Darling" doesn't even begin to describe them and the day we spent just watching them and playing with them.

Vacation days should be different from "normal" days they say--this one certainly qualified...in spades!

Shore World

Here I am "down the shore" again and in my annual amazement of the "shore world" here. What makes it a different world than my normal one, you ask? How about these things: temps in the high 80s morning, all day and evening; traffic everywhere and at all times; sandy soil and sand in everything else; summer touristy food kiosks/restaurants/bars/ice cream shops on every corner; and general conversations, greetings and atmosphere of summer from everyone you meet. The people here who are not visitors or servicing the visitors must be a small, small minority!

Sunday Mass was at a large, seemingly contemporary nearby Catholic Church. The most interesting uniqueness for me happens right before communion--the communion ministers all come up to the left side, line up and take turns before they go to their places. What are they doing, I thought when I first saw this ritual? Answer, they are pumping a blob of hand sanitizer on their hands before distributing communion! As my friend said, "Now their hands may be bacteria free, but my communion tastes like hand sanitizer!" I say, when the Pope refers to shepherds having to smell like sheep when they are ministering, I don't know if he took into consideration sanitized hands!

Blest are we

We had a very sad day this week as our Sister Rita G. passed into eternal life. Go here for the complete obituary. It doesn't matter if you were close friends, just acquaintances, of different generations, or simply occasional sharers of a meal or table discussion partners, the loss is real and the loss is deep, for individuals and for the community as a whole.

But Rita left us surrounded by beauty. The yellow day lilies are ringing chapel this week

and, if you take a stroll around the entire perimeter of the monastery, as well as that of Benetwood Apartments, directly behind us, you'll find pockets of beautiful arrangements such as this one:

Out and About

We had the opportunity over the last week to get "out and about" the Erie area. Here's what we found:

Finally got a chance to go to a Erie Seawolves baseball game. What fun. Here we are in the box and with our view. Unfortunately our presence didn't sway the result...8-0 the Altoona Curve.

Barbara Brown Taylor, author of the fascinating book, Leaving Church was at the Chautauqua Institution all week. We attended one session and she was everything we hoped for: sincere, faith-filled, funny and disarmingly honest. Wish we could have gone back every day.

July beauty

The black eyed Susans surround the bell from the downtown motherhouse chapel

Late irises are lovely in front of the weathered out building at Benetwood Apartments.

This weekend we welcome a number of young adult women who are coming for a "Following the Path" retreat--a time to look at what and where is their call in life; what is God is asking of them? We are very happy to welcome them among us for that discernment.

In Tribute-Elie Wiesel

From Night by Elie Wiesel (1928-2016), Noble Peace Prize winner 1986.

“Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.”

“To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”

“I pray to the God within me that He will give me the strength to ask Him the right questions.”