Seaside to Arch Cape

Day 2 began with an invitation from Fr. Nick Nilema to preside and preach at the daily Mass at Our Lady of Victory parish in Seaside. Actually, it began a little earlier than that when my alarm clock failed to go off and I was rousted out of bed by a loud knock on my door by Paul. It was a good thing for Paul to do and I have to admit that I was still sound asleep. Did I mention that the 16 miles the day before impressed me as a long way to walk? My body agreed and I have to admit that I may have simply slept through the alarm. Nonetheless, we arrived at OLV's new church and we were told that the daily Mass is offered in the parish center, instead of the newly built and quite beautiful church. We did, however, get a tour of the church and it is impressive. It is the fruit of many years of labor and it will be a source of pride in the parish for generations to come. Parishioners and visitors alike will be blessed with a lovely space in which to worship. It was nice to be able to preach about the Eucharist and the readings for the day in the context of the pilgrimage. The people who gathered with us were eager to offer their prayerful support and I asked that they also promise to give me lots of room on the side of the highway if they were headed south for any reason.

Daily mass is offered in a side room off the dining hall.

Fr. Nick is to the right; a bit dark in this room for a photo. 

After Mass, Paul and I headed out for St. Peter the Fisherman Chapel in Arch Cape. It is a mission of the Seaside parish and is located a few miles south of Cannon Beach. As you may know by now, Paul headed out in the car and I maintained a slower pace (although I did keep up a 3.5 mph pace for the day; Rembrandt would be proud, yet disappointed because that leaves little time to respond to squirrels at the road's edge). The walk started with a generous shower of rain for about 20 minutes and, strangely, ended with a 20 minute shower as I arrived at Arch Cape. I suggested that the two showers, which were both quite intense, were God's funny way of getting back at me for all the times I soaked the good people at St. Mary's during the Easter sprinkling rite! The 13.4 miles covered during the day were dedicated to all of the people who have died at St. Mary's over the past year. When I finished praying the Rosary, just before the second shower descended on me, a majestic Bald Eagle hovered overhead and circled around a few times. It was close enough that I could see its wings respond to the ocean gusts and it sure flew with great style and grace.  Nice touch! (This is being posted June 2 because there was no internet service at Arch Cape. This might not be the last time we encounter that this month.)