I asked to be received into the Catholic Church in 2007. Raised in the Evangelical Protestant tradition, I had for years been a devout Anglican Christian. I loved and still love the Anglican tradition, particularly its liturgy, but I had gradually come to the realization that I was theologically and spiritually Roman Catholic.
My decision to become Catholic was the culmination of years of searching and exploration. I was at the time in graduate school studying early Christian theology, but my studies extended beyond what I was formally studying to include the writings of figures like Thomas Merton, Henri de Lubac and Hans Urs von Balthasar, among others. I was actively involved in my Anglican parish as a lay reader, someone appointed by the bishop to lead prayer and preach on occasion.
In other words, I was not a blank slate when I asked to become Catholic, and I was fortunate that the priest at a local parish recognized this. After our discussion, he concluded that I did not need further catechesis and suggested that I be received at the Easter Vigil, which was when other candidates were to be received. I demurred and suggested Pentecost instead, to which he agreed without hesitation. A good friend who attended this parish became my sponsor, and I spent the next few months worshiping at this parish, waiting for Pentecost to arrive.
In 1986, the U.S. bishops approved and adopted the National Statutes for the Catechumenate, which provide guidelines for the catechumenate and included regulations for the reception of baptized Christians from other communities into the Catholic Church. Statutes 30 through 37 focus particularly on these, and the directives regarding reception of baptized Christians are clear and unambiguous. It is also clear that they are largely ignored.
Statute 30 declares that “[t]hose who have already been baptized in another Church or ecclesial community should not be treated as catechumens or so designated,” and then emphasizes that the degree to which they need to participate in catechesis prior to reception into the church needs to be determined on an individual level. There are some seeking reception who possess understanding of Catholic theology and spirituality and who therefore do not require a long period of catechesis and preparation.
Statute 31 unpacks this further by declaring that “baptized persons who have lived as Christians and need only instruction in the Catholic tradition and a degree of probation within the Catholic community should not be asked to undergo a full program parallel to the catechumenate.” The R.C.I.A. is not a single event but a collection of rites, and Statute 31 makes clear that baptized Christians are not to take part in those rites intended for unbaptized participants in the catechumenate (like the Rite of Election and the Scrutiny rites, among others).
It has been my experience that parishes do not do nuance well. It takes time and effort to meet with each candidate for reception to discern whether or not they require formal catechesis or not, as my priest met with me. Too often priests and parish administrators take the route of putting everyone into the same program whether they require formal catechesis or not because they don’t know what else to do with them. And this has become so much the norm that most parish leaders don’t even know they could offer other options.
Nor are they aware that, according to Statutes 32 and 33, the confirmation of baptized Christians should take place at a time other than the Easter Vigil. Statute 33 reads as follows:
It is preferable that reception into full communion not take place at the Easter Vigil lest there be any confusion of such baptized Christians with the candidates for baptism, possible misunderstanding of or even reflection upon the sacrament of baptism celebrated in another Church or ecclesial community, or any perceived triumphalism in the liturgical welcome into the Catholic eucharistic community.
It is interesting that even a usually well-informed person such as myself has never heard of these regulations from the bishops conference, heard them discussed in parishes, or seen them implemented.
ReplyDeleteThe RCIA although designed for adults seems to have deteriorated into another "sacrament formation program" like the Eucharist and Confirmation programs that assume a one size fits all model of non adult pupils.
"One size fits all" seems to be the default that parishes revert to for a lot of things, especially sacramental formation.
DeleteIt makes sense that reception at the Easter Vigil is for those who were not previously baptized. But I guess it does confer a certain degree of formality even for the ones who are already baptized. One of my daughters in law joined at the Easter vigil, and it seemed to mean a lot to her even though she was previously baptized. She did say though that she was glad she didn't have to be baptized full immersion like they were doing at the university parish where she joined.
My husband was baptized full immersion at age 16, which was typical of the evangelical church he grew up in. My mother in law said she was baptized in a lake as a teenager.
K was glad he went through RCIA because some things are quite different from the evangelical traditions, particularly sacramental theology. However Catholics are never going to beat evangelicals, former or present, for Bible knowledge. Which isn't the same as interpretation or exegesis.
Pre Vatican II my mom and I were confirmed on the same day. I was nine, she was 30. Confirmation in those days was reserved to the bishop, and he only made it out to our town every few years. Mom had converted a few years earlier. Some of the Hispanic people would bring babies to be confirmed. I don't know if that is still a custom or not.
I was an Episcopalian who went thru RCIA in 2001. Everybody here knows that story and how I feel about that experience. I hope parishes pay attention to that story and stop leaving baptized Christian converts to the ministrations of Church Ladies who run RCIA.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have anyone getting baptized this year. I heard we do have someone joining who didn't go through RCIA. For one reason or other it didn't fit for them, they met privately with the priest.
DeleteAs far as confirmation is concerned, the priest does it for the adult converts at the Easter vigil. But the 8th grade kids in confirmation class get the archbishop later. Would it be better for the already baptized adult converts to get confirmed then, or is the Easter vigil better for them? I think if it were me I would prefer the Easter vigil. They do get to meet the archbishop at the rite of election.
Why not have the priest confirm adults at Pentecost? The Vigil Mass for Pentecost can have extra readings, but that would not make it as long as the Easter Vigil.
DeleteThe Easter Vigil in our parish is very long, mostly because of the many baptized converts. Attendance is low despite pleas from the pastor about the importance of the Easter Vigil.
Episcopalians are loosey goosey about Confirmation because it's a minor sacrament. I went with Raber to his four week program for adults after services on Sunday. They wanted him to serve on the Vestry, and he had to be confirmed for that. The bishop came in one evening and confirmed Raber and three or four other people. It was very nice, small, and we brought potluck for after.
DeleteI'm sure that if the candidates were confirmed at any time besides the Vigil or with the 8th graders, the Church Ladies would gripe about the extra work.
Being a Catholic convert, as far as I can see, is learning that you are a big fat nuisance to God and Man.
Re Katherine's comment about candidates meeting the bishop at the Rite of Election:
DeleteCandidates are not supposed to have to go to the Rite of Election or Scrutinies, tho I was trotted through all of that.
I was struck by this: "It is preferable that reception into full communion not take place at the Easter Vigil lest there be ... perceived triumphalism in the liturgical welcome into the Catholic eucharistic community."
Any time I said something to the effect that Episcopalians had similar or the same beliefs as Catholics, I was totally shut down, with, "Well, we're here to learn about the Catholic faith."
It was clear that the Church Ladies felt they were on a tight time-table and had zero interest in or any knowledge of other denominations. The attitude was that they wanted to wash the Protestant off our souls, to make sure we had not been divorce or had abortions, and to ensure that we promised to raise our kids Catholic.
The tenor of the program was tense, and even tho the leaders were paid adult formation leaders, they seemed to resent being there, and I think I was really irritating to them, though I wasn't doing it on purpose.
I tried to get out of it in December after Enquirers, before RCIA started in earnest, but the priest talked me into sticking with it.
Pretty much this is the week where we commemorate that we are all a big fat nuisance to God ( but for some reason he puts up with us anyway).
DeleteHmm, well, He made us, and we're all He's got. He could burn us all up and start over if he wanted to.
DeleteIn the 20+ years since RCIA, I truly believe I would not have converted had I been able to talk it out instead of going thru a program where we had to sit in the cry room and watch Mass through a window with our minder from January to April.
I am usually self-directed, and why I kept on with RCIA despite the increasingly bad feeling is still a puzzle to me.
I think a badly done RCIA would be worse than none at all. The church got by without it for a lot of years. But then one was still at the mercy of whoever was doing the evangelizing. Do you think it was the people running the show, or the beliefs, or a combination of both that left a sour taste?
DeleteI really shouldn't indulge these negative thoughts about RCIA. The Easter Vigil is not a happy memory, my parents' death anniversaries are in April and May, and I need to try to find some happier anchors in what should be a season of joy and reeducation.
Delete*rededication. But maybe some re-education, too! Have a good Holy Week.
DeleteJean,
DeleteSorry for the unpleasant memories. However welcoming non-Catholic Christians into the practice of Catholicism is an important topic. While I am sure that many have had a positive experience, there may be as many or more who have had negative experiences. Given the number of mixed marriages there seem to be few efforts out there for making non-Catholic partners feel affirmed and welcomed even if they have not expressed an interest in Catholicism.
The issue of death in the spring/summer has not received the “blue Christmas “attention that has been given to the winter holidays. My mother’s mother died sometime in the spring or summer. In those days gladioli were the choice funeral flowers; there were often banks of them. My mother had a whole bed of them. She had to get rid of them all.
My mother died in early January, so I was saved from the association of her death with the Christmas season. My father died in April, but he had lived a long life, saw few reasons for staying around (e.g., grandchildren) and so accepted his death. He spent his last few days in a beautiful new hospice, so his death will always be associated with that place rather than the season of the year.
Our parish has a very low "success" rate for its RCIA "graduates." Most are not spouses, but single people or families looking for community. Most are never seen after the first year. Of the six people who went thru with RCIA with us, only Raber is a regular communicant.
DeleteThe Church Ladies sent out a survey to RCIA participants several years ago asking whether they were worshipping elsewhere or what, so somebody was concerned about that dropout rate.
I offered to serve as a sponsor for new people until I fell away, but the Church Ladies never took me up on it. They seem to want the $$ and see help as a threat maybe.
Since we were combined with another parish, RCIA takes place down there with a nun. So it may have improved. But they still lump candidates and catechumens together.
Jack and Jean, I can empathize with the situation of a loved one's death occurring near a holiday or season, and how that can cast a shadow. My mother's death was the day after my birthday, and the day before her own. My father's death was on our 49th wedding anniversary.
DeleteIt helped when our youngest granddaughter was born on Mom's death anniversary, 15 years later. It felt like a message, okay, no more moping on this day.
I don't have any deaths of family or friends near holiday dates. No matter what time of year they died, the primary sorrow is that they aren't here to celebrate the holidays with us. Christmases and Easters aren't what they used to be. But that's ok. They don't have to be and, if anything, are more meaningful.
DeleteMy parents were unhappy people, plagued with addiction and mental illness. I don't grieve so much as wonder what was the point. I think it's a human impulse to try to make a coherent story out of life, and in their case, I can't pull much of anything out of the hat. The Boy remembers them as very loving grandparents, so that helps. Raber wrote a very nice eulogy for them when Mom died, and sometimes I read that. They saw things in them that I couldn't, maybe, because I was always very guarded around them. Anyway, time to stop moping, like Katherine says!
DeleteThe research on conversions indicates that most of it is about relationships rather than intellectual ideas. In a mixed marriage the spouse with a stronger faith will most likely convert the person with a weaker faith. This is especially true if the spouse with a weaker faith begins to associate with a lot of the stronger faith spouse’s relatives and friends who are of that faith.
ReplyDeleteHowever, our culture usually talks about faith in terms of beliefs rather than relationships. So, the weaker faith spouse has to come up with beliefs as an explanation for their change of faith. That is what programs like RCIA do.
Many of the conversions of baptized persons are really about helping families simply their lives and those of their children by having only one church in their lives.
In the research done by Putnam for American Grace, they found that although religious networks of family, friends and small groups were important, it really did not matter if all the members of the network were of the same faith. In fact, Putnam and his associates went to great lengths to show that particular beliefs did not matter. Having a shared interest in religion was the key element; it worked even if people did not have the same beliefs and practices.
Another sociologist, Wuthnow, who did extensive research on small groups found that it was the mutual support that was important to members. However, the people in charge of local congregations emphasized the intellectual content of small groups, and viewed relationships like refreshments, something helpful to get people to come to group meetings.
The leadership of most congregations, both paid and unpaid, view transmittal of beliefs and values as the most important thing. The average Christian probably understands better that it is all about love of God and love of neighbor. It is the doing that counts.
Jack, lots to chew on here. I have heard Catholics dismiss Protestant denominations as "clubs," or mock the idea of "fellowship." It's as if the social aspects of those denominations--and Protestants are more sociable than Catholics--somehow weakened faith and discipline.
DeleteI think denominations need creed, worship, and fellowship.
The current priest likes to read the riot act and give sermons about the rules, trying to bring people back to "authentic" Catholicsm.
This means nothing to a convert, who has no notion of what that means. I sure don't.
Oh goodness, I hate to listen to harangues. Especially since they're usually preaching to the choir. I wonder if the Savonarola types ever change anyone's behavior.
DeleteI don't know if any of you are subscribers to the St. Anthony Messenger. There is a really good article this time on the Fransiscan view of the Way of the Cross, bringing in the Incarnation as the foundational mystery. It is in a way a counterbalance to the familiar theme of, " it is YOUR sins which crucified Jesus."
ReplyDeleteHopefully it's not behind a paywall:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/st-anthony-messenger/the-franciscan-connection-to-the-stations-of-the-cross/
This is one big reason I was attracted to the writings and talks of Richard Rohr. As a Franciscan, he was preaching this decades ago, and is probably the reason I’m still a Christian, even if hanging by a thread.
DeleteIt's my tradition to bake hot cross buns during Holy Week. I use the King Arthur flour recipe, only I use buttercream frosting to make the crosses, instead of theirs. Makes too many for us, so I share them around.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice tradition.
DeleteThe priest at the local parish is Polish and has instituted an Eastern European tradition of taking decorated Easter baskets of boiled eggs, sausage, and bread to Mass to be blessed. All the Czechs and Germans in the congregation have thrown themselves into that. Quite a competition to see whose basket is prettiest.
Sadly, I am not very handy at that type of thing.
Our parish has the blessing of food on Holy Saturday afternoon. Usually that falls to the deacons to do. Only we don't get too fancy, I think most people just bring their stuff in HyVee or Walmart bags.
DeleteI could dump it all in my magazine basket and put a store-bought bow on for Raber. But some of these things have ribbons and special fake grass to match the kids' Easter outfits, fancy dyed boiled eggs, homemade bread. It's quite a pageant!
DeleteI might make a go of it this year. A ring of kielbasa and a few boiled eggs. Bare bones. Take it down to a family Easter dinner in the Philly area. I don't compete in dancing or Easter baskets.
DeleteIt's fun for kids, and a nice alternative to the secularized bunny-and-egg things. Alas, our Easter tradition was "don't drive me nuts at Mass, and you can blow up Peeps in the microwave when we get home." I will have to put that in my Book of Tips for Bad Catholic Moms.
DeleteWatch out for storms everyone! We are getting hammered this morning, sirens going off at least twice since I got up, and alerts going off on my phone like popcorn. Another more severe round is expected this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteYesterday afternoon, we had the biggest hailstones I've seen in years, and local flooding. Jean, I expect that line of storms would have hit you in the evening yesterday. The line that is making your sirens go off, presumably is the same one that passed through here in the pre-dawn hours. Lots of rain here and a little thunder but nothing extreme.
DeleteHope everyone stays safe. So far just clear, cold, and very windy here.
DeleteJim, glad you were not hit bsd!
DeleteLots of ponding in low places, but no hail or high winds. Tornado danger is considered "extreme" until 4 pm, but the temperature is not rising. If the sun doesn't come out until storms are passed we will be fine.
Our cat Flora is always my best barometer. About 10 minutes before a bad storm moves in, she runs to her hiding place under the desk. Daisy, the other cat, runs excitedly from window to window, possibly hoping to see the devastation better.
Both are taking naps on the couch, so hope that is a reflection of current atmospheric conditions.
I’m glad all of you are safe. It’s a beautiful day here in Boulder. May the sun shine soon for all of you mid-westerners!
DeleteI'm afraid our parish also lumps them together. The diocesan RCIA powers that be are aware of the prevalence of this, and regularly urge parishes to follow the regulations. But for reasons that have little to do with theology, parishes continue to do it this way. I think a big part of it is pastors choosing which battles to fight, and this simply isn't a high priority for them. And it's surely true that, for the paid staff member in charge, it's easier to administer one program than two.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this introduces them to the clericalism which dominates Catholic life, doing things for the convenience of pastors and paid staff.
DeletePerhaps there should be a little booklet for those baptized, giving them fair notice as to what life as a Catholic is really like.
If they decided not to be received into the Church, they would still be able to live as a Christian in some other denomination, perhaps more fruitfully than as a Catholic.
Under the heading of "some things went away during Covid, and nobody really wants to bring them back", our parish isn't doing foot washing tonight. Normally the deacons help with that, and K asked Father last evening if they were going to do it. He sort of grinned and said he'd forgotten to get volunteers lined up. Forgotten on purpose is most likely. The thing is, nobody wants to get their feet washed at Mass, and they have to be arm twisted. I have been asked to in the past and always had the excuse that I was in choir or being an EMHC.
ReplyDeleteWe aren't doing Communion from the cup either, which I do miss. Except there are viruses still around and it doesn't seem prudent. We only did it during Holy Week anyway in the past, and the EMHCs would have to have a meeting ahead of time to remember how we did it last time. People only take a little sip and EMHCs would have to consume the consecrated wine afterwards. Sometimes it would be quite a bit.
Nobody in the Midwest wants foot washing. Looking at bare feet that have been cooped up in heavy sox and boots all winter gives everybody the creeps. Plus most priests are so old that washing 12 pairs of feet is too hard on their aching backs and knees.
DeleteFoot washing has been successfully done in my large suburban parish, largely because the high school age people do it.
DeleteAbout a dozen of them position chairs at various places around the altar steps. They are the first to get their feet washed by the priests. Once one of them has their feet washed, they wash the feet of other teens involved.
The priests as they finish their round, invite people to come forward to have their feet washed and wash other people’s feet. Most of this is done is done in families, and it gets a lot of attention especially from grade school age children who are with their parents. The high school students continue to assist with water, bowls, and towels so everything goes smoothly.
I would say that we get about as many people as we usually do when we have anointing of the sick at Mass. As in the anointing of the sick, people slowly come forward, and as more people come forward, more decide to join.
We have been doing this for about a decade now. I have never done it because I of my mobility problem and that I sang in the choir, but there are a few choir members, mostly couples who do join in
.
The program with the adolescents emphasizes servant leadership and voluntarism.
Jean, LOL, my feet are gnarly, callused, with bad toenails, and have a lot of miles on them. Trust me, no one wants to see them, let alone wash them. Embarrassing situation for the washee and the washer.
DeleteI get the part about introducing the teens to service, but I can think of better projects that might actually do someone some good.
Katherine re viruses. My husband and I are both sick as dogs with severe gastroenteritis symptoms, for more than 12 hours now. Thank goodness our son’s house has more than one bathroom. I haven’t felt this horrible, this sick, in many years. We don’t know where we picked it up, but probably the airplane. No shared cup is a good idea right now.
DeleteAnne, I'm sorry to hear that! Stomach viruses are the worst! Hopefully it is the 24 hour bug and it will soon be gone. Sending prayers for healing.
DeleteKatherine, feet sure show age, that's for sure.
DeleteAnne, hope you will feel better soon.such a drag to be sick on a trip.
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Delete"The thing is, nobody wants to get their feet washed at Mass, and they have to be arm twisted."
DeleteThat's our experience, too. We did manage to pull sufficient teeth this year, so it was done last night. Nobody invited me to have my feet washed, and I sang in the choir last night, but I'm not anti-foot-washing. I think it's a beautiful little rite, as Pope Francis has demonstrated. In years past, we've invited anyone who wishes to come forward, to do so, and quite a few people took us up on it. Then, a couple of pastors ago, it was decided that inviting all and sundry is not what the rubrics specify, so we shouldn't do that. It used to specify only men; I think Francis (or someone) may have corrected that?
Jim, the "only men" thing would make me mad! But then could I really complain since I don't want my feet washed?
DeleteThey don't do only men here, I don't think they could get enough of them to volunteer.
Not that they did anyone last night here. I do think it is sort of touching that the pope washes prisoners' feet and says some encouraging words to them.
DeleteIf memory serves, Pope Francis washed the feet of a Muslim woman.
DeleteAs a demonstration of the servanthood of Christ in the persons of the clergy, I get the footwashing. And I laud any effort that reminds clergypersons that they are there to serve, not to boss people around.
But where footwashing seems embarrassing to people, rightly or wrongly, and the clergy or their Church Lady minions have to guilt-trip people into it, it detracts from the whole servanthood deal.
Besides, isn't transubstantiating and serving Communion at every Mass a sign of the servanthood of the clergy? Not sure everyone sees it that way. The priest has sacrificed his time and talent to offer an appropriate homily for reflection as well as the necessaries required to perform the sacrament.
That's how I saw it as an Episcopalian, though RCIA certainly put the emphasis on seeing the priest less as a servant and more as a leader whose word was law, especially in the confessional.
Have a blessed Easter, everyone!
"...isn't transubstantiating and serving Communion at every Mass a sign of the servanthood of the clergy?" Yes it is! Definitely the Holy Thursday message.
DeleteYou have a blessed Easter as well, Jean.
If Anne is reading this I hope she is feeling better today.
The Apostolic Delegate frequently presides at the National Shrine in D.C. for important services; he did so last night for the Holy Thursday Mass and foot washing.
ReplyDeleteHe gives good solid homilies. He began last night by quoting both Benedict and Francis
“The love that we celebrate in the Eucharist is not something that we can keep to ourselves; it’s very nature demands to be shared with all, what the world needs is God’s love, encounter with Christ, and to believe in him.” (Benedict, I think from his encyclical on charity)
“Sometimes there is a risk of confining the Eucharist to a very distant dimension, perhaps bright and perfumed with incense, but very removed from daily life. Eucharist adoration comes to life when we take care of our neighbor as Jesus taught.” (Francis)
The theme of the Eucharist becoming the sacrament of charity has been a theme of the past two popes. We should never separate the Eucharist from the commandment to love. The celebration of the institution of the Eucharist with the washing of the feet places them together.
We honor the Eucharist by belief in the real presences, reception of communion as Mass, BUT it cannot end there.
Because the Eucharist is the gift of Jesus to us in love, we must make ourselves a gift to others in love.
How can we do this?
The marvelous expression of the liturgy here; the beauty and splendor of God, encounter with God, not only here but elsewhere around the world. Love is the fruit of countless others participating in a common faith.
BUT, there are many people who are not joining us in the Eucharist. ….because of excessive work, difficult home situations, because they are in prison, or prevented by war and persecutions, or are because they have been deeply wounded by members of the Church.
We must refrain from being judgmental, they are also the children of God.
The real presence, devotion, and teaching not enough, we must be Eucharist to them, and become their companions.
“As I have done for you” is the model to follow, this is where the church began. Love cannot be kept to ourself; it is to be shared with all. So, it is up to us.
It is a ten-minute homily which begins at about 59 minutes into this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prpu1uW_c9Y
This ancient sermon for Holy Saturday might be meaningful for new converts. It cheered me up. https://youtu.be/3_2xFk4qbtk
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jean. I love that one.
DeleteI think I may have posted this poem, "Limbo" before:
Deletehttps://www.cleansingfire.org/2018/03/for-st-josephs-day-limbo-by-sr-mary-ada/#:~:text=LIMBO%20by%20Sister%20Mary%20Ada%20The%20ancient%20greyness,Like%20mist%20upon%20the%20moors%20Before%20a%20wind.
In Hell there grew a Judas Tree
DeleteWhere Judas hanged and died
Because he could not bear to see
His master crucified.
Our Lord descended into Hell
And found his Judas there
For ever hanging on the tree
Grown from his own despair.
So Jesus cut his Judas down
And took him in his arms.
"It was for this I came," he said,
"And not to do you harm.
My Father gave me twelve good men,
And all of them I kept.
Though one betrayed and one denied,
Some fled and others slept.
In three days' time I must return
To make the others glad,
But first I had to come to Hell
And share the death you had.
My tree will grow in place of yours,
Its roots lie here as well.
There is no final victory
Without this soul from Hell."
So when we all condemned him
As of every traitor worst,
Remember that of all his men
Our Lord forgave him first.
D. Ruth Etchells
This is why I don’t believe anyone is condemned to “hell”.
DeleteI think we all have a list of people we think should be or expect to be in Hell. Some of us have our own names on it. I like to think that the first thing that happens in Purgatory is that they take our list away.
DeleteHappy Easter to all.
ReplyDeleteEASTER BLESSINGS
"On this Easter morning, let us look again at the lives we have been so generously given and let us let fall away the useless baggage that we carry -- old pains, old habits, old ways of seeing and feeling -- and let us have the courage to begin again. Life is very short, and we are no sooner here than it is time to depart again, and we should use to the full the time that we still have.
We don't realize all the good we can do. A kind, encouraging word or helping hand can bring many a person through dark valleys in their lives. We weren't put here to make money or to acquire status or reputation. We were sent here to search for the light of Easter in our hearts, and when we find it we are meant to give it away generously.
May the spirit and light of this Easter morning and the special spirit and light of this abbey at Corcomroe bless us all, watch over us and protect us on our journey, open us from the darkness into the light of peace and hope and transfiguration."
JOHN O'DONOHUE
Dawn Mass Reflections at Corcomroe Abbey
Happy Easter, everyone.
DeleteThank you, Anne. That is very nice. Hope you are feeling better.
DeleteYes - very nice! Thank you. Happy Easter, everyone.
DeleteThanks everyone. It was a long recovery. Couldn’t really eat until yesterday. We came home yesterday. I missed out on all the wonderful Easter specialties. I couldn’t do much with the grandkids, but I did enjoy watching them at least.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a nasty bug; glad you are doing better.
Delete