Today’s prayer was dedicated to the Carmelite Sisters at Carmel Maria Regina in Eugene. The Sisters there have been praying for me and supporting me for many years. In fact, they started praying for my priestly vocation before I even knew I had one. I recall that someone asked them to pray for me and the possibility that God would call me to priestly service. As I’ve told the Sisters, some days in parish life I’m deeply grateful to them for those prayers . . . and some days, in the midst of trials and hardship, I blame them for what they’ve gotten me involved in! It was a great honor to devote myself to praying for the Sisters and I had the added delight to do so wearing one of my favorite t-shirts. It has an image of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, and the words “Start Acting Like a Child.” She is well-known for many things, but her “Little Way” of appreciating God’s glory and grace in the little things in life has always been special to me. She is the patron Saint of missionaries and I suppose I qualify in some respects along the path of this Pilgrimage.
Passing through Newport today, I was reminded that the last 100 miles have been a passage from farms and forests to frapuccino and fast traffic. All of it has been joyful and a revelation, in every sense of that word. I don’t resent city life (I’m moving to Portland soon!), but there is obviously a faster pace within city limits and an accompanying risk of less attentiveness to fellow human beings. Seven times today in Newport, a city which has signs as you enter and leave that say “Friendliest”, I was completely ignored after offering what I thought was a rather cheery “good morning” to people. So I just said “good morning” twice, once for me and once for them.
Yaquina Bay (Newport)
Yaquina Bay Bridge
Entryway to South Beach State Park
Campsite at Tillicum State Park
Rhododendrons
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ReplyDeleteFr Mark, Thanks for your daily posts, which clearly take a lot of energy, thoughtfulness and reflection on the Godliness of nature and its beauty. Being a [backyard] birdwatcher myself I especially like your musings about the herons and the gulls and whoever else with wings graced your path during the day.
I too experienced the "friendliest" people in Newport one summer long ago, when I took a short term clerkship there. I learned all about the deep blue fog that sometimes moves in from the see mid-day, gone almost as quickly as it arrived. I also learned to say, "Bless me," whenever I sneezed because no one else there ever would!
Fr. Mark
ReplyDeleteWe prayed for you last week at our annual priest's retreat at Mount Angel Abbey. Thank you for your postings. Your reflections are thoughtful and the pictures are beautiful. God bless you on your pilgrimage.
-Fr. John Kerns