Monday morning

It is amazing how many weekends can get off the planned track with just one 'little' event. I was just going to make a quick trip to town to buy some nails, check the PO Box, and dump some trash. Since the youngest children were playing somewhere behind me, I decided to get to the road 'cross country'. I have done this many times, but always avoided the stump. This time I did not. (I recall many years ago my friend got his car stuck on a stump, but there were 5 or 6 of us around to lift him off.) My oldest son and I finally lifted it off with a lever (old telephone pole), with Mrs. Curley driving the car, but the whole effort side-tracked some of the other plans.

Under the 'call me a sucker' category.... I think I mentioned somewhere that we had inherited some cats with the property. Mother cat (Sandstone) had a litter of six recently (Oh yes, I posted about the death of one). We have a sign on the road adversting "Free Kittens". There have been no takers yet. But apparently someone thought we were seeking free kittens. While eating our Sunday dinner and older couple pulled into Bethany. I went out to greet them. They live less than a mile down the road. Apparently a cat and her kittens showed up on their porch that day. Later, the cat and most of the kittens were gone, but one. As they passed our house and saw the sign, they naturally wondered if their found stray could be one of ours. Of course it wasn't. They left reluctantly after a nice chat. I had told them their kitten was older than ours and probably Sandstone would not take to it trying to nurse off her. During dinner we discussed the stray and the fact that this older couple were probably ill-equipped and disinclined to take care of the kitten. (They certainly appeared sort of desparate. I could tell they were almost pleading with me to take the kitten.) So after dinner I took Matthew and we drove down to their house. Sure enough, they were very grateful for us to take the kitten off their hands. I don't know why I do such things.

Please offer a quick prayer today for our neighbor. It is the one year anniversary of losing his wife, (and pray for the soul of his deceased wife). I know for many people the one year period is difficult. In the weeks approaching the one year anniversary of my Dad's death, memories of that day intensified increasingly and painfully (in some ways more painfully than the actual event). But as the milestone passed, peace returned.

I announced Friday that my advance copies of Requiem Press' latest release would arrive. I was wrong. Some mix-up at the printer. They should arrive today.

Last Sunday I mentioned without detail Fr. Ladkou's homily on "Give to Ceasar...". Fr. Ladkou's main thrust was to re-examine Christ's last line, "Give to God what is God's". He asked "What is due to God?" Of course the answer is: Everything we have and are, our whole being. This Sunday our pastor Fr. John O'Holohan, SJ commented on yesterday's gospel: "you shall love God with your whole heart, your whole soul, and with your whole mind." Both gospels deliver the same message...

Finally, check out this picture at Chesterton and Friends. I agree whole-heartedly with the caption on the picture. (How do you think we lifted that car off the stump....)

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune.... Oremus pro invicem!