SUNDAY OF THE 30th WEEK – before Mass

I had planned to write again on Saturday night but was so tired when I got home late last night, I just went to bed.

To continue:

Thursday:
After I returned from the Mass at Stone Ridge, I did some more cleaning of my desk, and then had the 11:00am Mass and then I went to have lunch with Gail Douglas, a friend from grade school, who had just retired for the second time. We decided that we are both too young to retire; so we talked about getting her a new job!!! She lives in Crofton.
I talked by phone with Pat Watters. She is staying at her brother’s while she undergoes some medical test. She was in a car accident a few months ago and still has some residual effects. She can’t drive, so I’ll try to get over to pick her up and drive her to visits some of her friends. Keep her in your prayers.
I stayed home that evening and read.

Friday:
I had a service over at Gasch’s funeral home in Hyattsville for Bill McCartan. He was a parishioner from St. Bernard’s when I was pastor. He and his wife were raising their grand daughter, Jacqueline; and Jackie and he were faithful in attending Sunday Mass and sitting in a certain pew. She was killed tragically a few years and I came back to bury here. Now, after a long battle with cancer, they are together again in heaven. R.I.P,

I had the Exposition at 3pm and the 5:30pm Mass. Then, we had three seminarians from T.C. join us for supper. We had a great time and regaled them with stories of the “old days” when pastors were “kings” in the rectory and the rest of the priests were treated like children. They were amazed!! Retired early!!

Saturday:
I had the 11:00am Mass. It was the first time that we could celebrate the feast of Blessed Pope John Paul II. We had special prayers and special readings. The first was “how wonderful on the mountain, are the feet of those who bring good news”. I talked about the earliest photos of the new Pope that showed him hiking in the Italian Alps. After the long illness of Pope Paul VI and the very short life of Pope John Paul I, it was great to see a robust and youthful pontiff in a parka climbing the mountains.

After Mass, I joined Maggie and about twenty of her classmates for lunch at Positano’s, a nice Italian restaurant in Bethesda. I know a number of them and I enjoyed my table mates and our conversations.
Then I drove over to the dedication of the new Pope John Paul II seminary over by Catholic University. It was very nice and there were lots of priests and seminarians that I knew and had a chance to speak with. All three Cardinals were there and I had a chance to speak with Cardinal Baum and made arrangements to visit him at the Little Sisters. I didn’t get to talk with Kevin Keyser, who was one of my servers at St. Michael’s and is now a student for the priesthood living at the seminary. He was giving tours of the third floor and there is no elevator. I hope to see him soon. I’m so glad I went.

Then I came home and took a nap. Then I decided to go out to the Kennedy Center. A young man, who had been a student at Good Counsel and been in the musicals I directed, was starring in an adaptation of Ibsen’s The Doll House. He is a “little person” and was always very talented. I got a ticket for row 2 and really enjoyed the show and his performance. Afterwards, I met a lady, Mary Cahill, who has known Mark since he was a baby and is a family friend; we both were standing at the stage door hoping to see him. We eventually went to the lobby and met some of Mark’s friends – also “little people” and they told us he was coming to meet them there. We waited and had a great visit with Mark. He was very glad I came and I told him I represented lots of people from GC who would have loved to see him. He is married, has two children, and lives in Los Angeles. He has had a lot of success in his career. He just finished a film, “Snow White” with Julia Roberts in Canada and he was in “Elephants with Water” last year. He has travelled all around the world with this play and it has met with critical success. I’m so glad to went.

Didn’t get home till Midnight and so I went right to bed.
I am in my office at the center and have the 10:30am Mass in the gym. I will right again tonight about the rest of Sunday.

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