By Pat Haggerty

I always start each day with a brief reflection from Catholic Digest called “A Quiet Moment.”  The reflection for May 1st was a proverb:  “A sincere heart can make a stone blossom.”   That reflection was quite significant to me in light of the recent passing of one of the curates from our parish.

Father Philip Bonvouloir, A.A. passed away on Saturday leaving behind a void for his parish family and his family of Assumptionist brothers.  Actually, it isn’t really a void because Father Phil’s legacy will live on.  It is a legacy of caring, living out his priestly life to the fullest, and living a God-centered life rooted in the reality of this world.

By Pat Haggerty

In a previous blog, I told you about one of my favorite spiritual writers, James Behrens, OCSO.   There is an essay in his book, Grace Revisited, which is particularly moving to me.   The essay is called “Andy’s Diner.”  In this vignette, Behrens equates spirituality with the goings-on of the diner.   He tells the reader about certain customers who frequented the diner and what they shared with each other.  He points out the generosity and openness of the proprietor.  He goes so far as to say:  “There was something sacramental to it all.  Those people gave me something that made me think about and long for the truth and experience of God.”

By Pat Haggerty

This is considered the holiest of weeks for Christians.  How often have you heard that already?  What does this week really mean for us?  How can we give it meaning?  I think we need to give it value through our daily actions and by wrapping ourselves in the stillness of the week.

In my previous blog, I was describing the Lenten arrangement that the Environmental Committee has been constructing in our church.  Bit by bit, things have been added to it.  It still conveys the image of simplicity and starkness, but there is a richness to it that accompanies the imagery.