It’s pretty amazing how time just seems to escape me. I had every intention of writing yesterday but before I knew it, I was out of the office and headed to my second job. Oh, I don’t think I mentioned that I’ll be house/pet sitting for the next two weeks so my Internet access is very limited. I’m amazed how much Dylan has grown since I last took care of him. He’s feistier now and more adventurous. There’s a part of him that realizes he’s a bigger dog and is able to do things he could not do before. He’s still really cute and rambunctious just like the way a young pup should be.
The highlight of my week was definitely the Farmers Market. Yes, I finally made it to the Farmers Market on Saturday. John and I usually meet at 8:30AM, but met at 8AM this time because he had a wedding later that morning. Because of the threat of flood last week, the downtown Farmers Market was cancelled so people came in droves on Saturday. Usually, there’s just not too many people at the market around that time but believe you me, there was more than the fair share of people. I tell friends that there’s the serious Farmers Market crowd and the social crowd. The social crowd usually makes it there between 9:30AM and 10AM and they are doing is walking without any intention of buying anything. It’s more of a social gathering. I would consider myself a combination of both because there are certain things I’ll get and once I’m done, I’m all about the people watching aspect which can be pretty fun. There were a number of new vendors this year and to my biggest surprise and happiness, there’s a Filipino vendor that sells siew pau! I walked past that vendor and they had something that looked liked siew pau and true enough, that’s what it was. I asked the person what were the fillings and she said either, beef, chicken or pork. I went with pork and I must say that it was good. It had been sitting in the steamer for some time so it was not as fresh, but the next time I’m at the market, I’ll be sure to get it ASAP. See, the things you never know what you’ll get at the Farmers Market. Needless to say I was a very happy camper.
The rest of the day was spent watching the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 between Holland and Russia. It was a pretty good game and it was darn right surprising how well the Russians played especially after being outclassed by the Spain. I’m planning on watching the semifinal between these two teams on Thursday. I may even take half a day off from work just so I can watch the game. It should be a mouth watering game to say the least. I also watched a couple of dvds that I borrowed from the library and got some reading done. All in all it was a very laid back and relaxing day, just the way a Saturday should be.
Sunday was pretty much uneventful. Even at the facility things were pretty mellow. It definitely felt like a Sunday. The resident’s energy level was pretty blah and the day kind of dragged on. While at work, I found out that a colleague of mine whom I work with on Wednesday evenings might have colon cancer and it’s not looking good. I’ve not worked with him for two weeks and I saw him yesterday when I transported the residents to the other house for a birthday party celebration. He does not look good. He’s lost a lot of weight and just looks extremely week and lethargic and that’s just not him. I’m hoping and praying that things are going to be OK because he’s a great and neat person. He’s the guy who was my trainer when I first started working at Westminster House.
This weekend will be fantastic weekend if the weather is nice. The DM Art Festival starts on Friday and goes till Sunday. I’m down to take the residents there on Friday evening after supper and am looking forward to it. Depending on how much time I spend there, I might go back on Saturday too. It’s always a fun summer event and the fact that it’s just a few blocks from where I live makes it more than worthwhile. I’m sure I’m not going to get anything, but I like admiring art in all its form.
I guess that’s all the news from me for now. Please keep Rich in your prayers. It will truly be tragic if he has cancer.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
We dodged a major bullet.
Well, after the excitement from the weekend, it’s nice that things have gotten back to normal albeit somewhat. Where do I even begin?
I guess I could start on Thursday. It had been raining quite a lot for the past couple of weeks and water level had continued to rise pretty significantly, but no one was really too worried. The beginning of last week people started to get more concerned about flooding especially with 1993 in mind. Des Moines and entire state of Iowa was hit by a major flood that year and evidently it was a very scary period because power AND water was lost for more than a week. Since then, many steps had been taken to ensure something like that never happens again. The term once every five hundred years flood was tossed around quite a lot because we almost experienced it fifteen years after 1993.
Due to the nature of our agency, what we do and the people we serve, we have someone on staff who needs to be kept abreast with any impending disaster. Needless to say she was tuned to the television monitoring the situation very closely. Many different public and state agencies in collaboration with law enforcement officials came together to make sure everyone was safe and kept aware of the potential flooding. Water from the DM River was rising at a very dangerous level to the point they closed the bridges that went over it. If you’re able to go onto the website (www.dmregister.com), you can see some pretty amazing photos taken before and after the water rose.
Things kind of got pretty interesting on Thursday night with a lot of volunteers sandbagging in downtown DM. The river had risen to a dangerously high level and they were worried that the levee would not hold. I read the next day that there were people who sandbagged into the wee hours of the morning. Many people were just holding their breath and praying that the water would be kept at bay.
On Friday, we had the news on at the office and one of my site managers came in to drop some paperwork and told me that something is definitely going on because a lot of people from all the different agencies were scurrying around. They had taken over his building and it ended up becoming the command center. Whenever there was a press conference, all these people would cross the street and have a press conference in the building located just across. The 10AM press conference did not say a lot, but instead of coming on at 3PM as scheduled an emergency press conference was called for noon. That’s when the announcement was made that part of DM was under a voluntary evacuation notice. Mind you, this was at noon on a Friday and most people do not have the television on. As a precautionary measure the press conference stated that they wanted people to leave DM because the river was expected to crest much earlier than expected. I personally had no intention of leaving because I was far enough West of the river that I was not the least concerned. However, a colleague mentioned to me that there’s a strong possibility that if flooding were to occur, they would shut down the electric and water. That got me a little worried because I could be “trapped” in my apartment without water and electric for God only knows how long. At my colleague’s recommendations, I went back to my apartment and started packing some clothing and passport. I was confident the water would not reach the third floor of my building so I did not even think of packing anything else. I had mentioned to Joel earlier in the day that if I was forced to evacuate, I may end up at his house and he said it would not be a problem at all. On my way back to the apartment, I gave John a call and asked him if the priests’ residence had an open room. He told me not to worry and just grab my stuff. I’m glad I went back to the apartment when I did because they wanted people out of downtown DM by 6PM. Enforcement agencies wanted all the different companies to let their staff leave downtown in a timely manner. I feared for a mass panic in downtown and everyone wanting to leave at the same time. We found out that was not to be the case which was a good thing.
After packing, I went back to the office to work and then proceeded to work at the facility until 10PM. After I got off work, I was off to Dowling where I was to spend the night. John and I watched the television and they reported that the worst was behind us and the water by then had started to recede. John said that I was most welcome to spend the night, but I saw no reason to since the water was receding. I drove back to my apartment, stayed awake till probably midnight with the news on went to bed.
John and I had breakfast at Gateway Market the next morning and it was indeed a beautiful day. When I arrived at the market, I found out that part of the levee north of downtown had breached and water was flowing down. There was mandatory evacuation for the people who lived in and around that neighborhood. It’s kind of scary to think that I could have been one of those people forced to evacuate if the levee had broken closer to downtown. I guess the levee broke at around 3:30AM and there was nothing that could have been done. Everyone did the best they could to prevent it from happening. No lives were lost but there’s much damaged to property. The rest of the day was spent in my apartment watching soccer and catching on some dvds I had borrowed from the library. It was an extremely relaxed Saturday.
There’s nothing to report about Sunday. Things for the most part had returned to normal.
I truly meant it when I said DM dodged a bullet because it could have been much worse. I’m more concerned about Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. I know a couple of friends in Iowa City and had gotten in touch with them to make sure they are OK. Friend’s families live in Cedar Rapids and they too were safe. Those that I know all live on a hill so needless to say they are safe. When you look at the images of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, it’s just gut wrenching to see how devastating the flood was. Damages would amount to at least a billion dollars and we’ve been told that federal funding will be there for families affected by the flood. All in all I’m just hoping and praying that no lives are lost. It’s tragic and sad to think that properties are lost, but there’s nothing more important than one’s life. Towns will rebuild and some property will be able to be salvaged. Communities will come together and people will help and lean on another for support. It’s the Midwest way. As long as no lives are lost, I’m thankful. I mentioned this to a number of people that it’s a good reminder once again that we have no control over Mother Nature and whoever things that global warming has nothing to do with this needs to think again. Please do keep those affected by the flooding in your prayers because more than anything else, that’s what they need right now. For some, it will take weeks and maybe even months to recover, but at the end of the day, they will recover. Faith will pull them all through.
I guess I could start on Thursday. It had been raining quite a lot for the past couple of weeks and water level had continued to rise pretty significantly, but no one was really too worried. The beginning of last week people started to get more concerned about flooding especially with 1993 in mind. Des Moines and entire state of Iowa was hit by a major flood that year and evidently it was a very scary period because power AND water was lost for more than a week. Since then, many steps had been taken to ensure something like that never happens again. The term once every five hundred years flood was tossed around quite a lot because we almost experienced it fifteen years after 1993.
Due to the nature of our agency, what we do and the people we serve, we have someone on staff who needs to be kept abreast with any impending disaster. Needless to say she was tuned to the television monitoring the situation very closely. Many different public and state agencies in collaboration with law enforcement officials came together to make sure everyone was safe and kept aware of the potential flooding. Water from the DM River was rising at a very dangerous level to the point they closed the bridges that went over it. If you’re able to go onto the website (www.dmregister.com), you can see some pretty amazing photos taken before and after the water rose.
Things kind of got pretty interesting on Thursday night with a lot of volunteers sandbagging in downtown DM. The river had risen to a dangerously high level and they were worried that the levee would not hold. I read the next day that there were people who sandbagged into the wee hours of the morning. Many people were just holding their breath and praying that the water would be kept at bay.
On Friday, we had the news on at the office and one of my site managers came in to drop some paperwork and told me that something is definitely going on because a lot of people from all the different agencies were scurrying around. They had taken over his building and it ended up becoming the command center. Whenever there was a press conference, all these people would cross the street and have a press conference in the building located just across. The 10AM press conference did not say a lot, but instead of coming on at 3PM as scheduled an emergency press conference was called for noon. That’s when the announcement was made that part of DM was under a voluntary evacuation notice. Mind you, this was at noon on a Friday and most people do not have the television on. As a precautionary measure the press conference stated that they wanted people to leave DM because the river was expected to crest much earlier than expected. I personally had no intention of leaving because I was far enough West of the river that I was not the least concerned. However, a colleague mentioned to me that there’s a strong possibility that if flooding were to occur, they would shut down the electric and water. That got me a little worried because I could be “trapped” in my apartment without water and electric for God only knows how long. At my colleague’s recommendations, I went back to my apartment and started packing some clothing and passport. I was confident the water would not reach the third floor of my building so I did not even think of packing anything else. I had mentioned to Joel earlier in the day that if I was forced to evacuate, I may end up at his house and he said it would not be a problem at all. On my way back to the apartment, I gave John a call and asked him if the priests’ residence had an open room. He told me not to worry and just grab my stuff. I’m glad I went back to the apartment when I did because they wanted people out of downtown DM by 6PM. Enforcement agencies wanted all the different companies to let their staff leave downtown in a timely manner. I feared for a mass panic in downtown and everyone wanting to leave at the same time. We found out that was not to be the case which was a good thing.
After packing, I went back to the office to work and then proceeded to work at the facility until 10PM. After I got off work, I was off to Dowling where I was to spend the night. John and I watched the television and they reported that the worst was behind us and the water by then had started to recede. John said that I was most welcome to spend the night, but I saw no reason to since the water was receding. I drove back to my apartment, stayed awake till probably midnight with the news on went to bed.
John and I had breakfast at Gateway Market the next morning and it was indeed a beautiful day. When I arrived at the market, I found out that part of the levee north of downtown had breached and water was flowing down. There was mandatory evacuation for the people who lived in and around that neighborhood. It’s kind of scary to think that I could have been one of those people forced to evacuate if the levee had broken closer to downtown. I guess the levee broke at around 3:30AM and there was nothing that could have been done. Everyone did the best they could to prevent it from happening. No lives were lost but there’s much damaged to property. The rest of the day was spent in my apartment watching soccer and catching on some dvds I had borrowed from the library. It was an extremely relaxed Saturday.
There’s nothing to report about Sunday. Things for the most part had returned to normal.
I truly meant it when I said DM dodged a bullet because it could have been much worse. I’m more concerned about Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. I know a couple of friends in Iowa City and had gotten in touch with them to make sure they are OK. Friend’s families live in Cedar Rapids and they too were safe. Those that I know all live on a hill so needless to say they are safe. When you look at the images of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, it’s just gut wrenching to see how devastating the flood was. Damages would amount to at least a billion dollars and we’ve been told that federal funding will be there for families affected by the flood. All in all I’m just hoping and praying that no lives are lost. It’s tragic and sad to think that properties are lost, but there’s nothing more important than one’s life. Towns will rebuild and some property will be able to be salvaged. Communities will come together and people will help and lean on another for support. It’s the Midwest way. As long as no lives are lost, I’m thankful. I mentioned this to a number of people that it’s a good reminder once again that we have no control over Mother Nature and whoever things that global warming has nothing to do with this needs to think again. Please do keep those affected by the flooding in your prayers because more than anything else, that’s what they need right now. For some, it will take weeks and maybe even months to recover, but at the end of the day, they will recover. Faith will pull them all through.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Flood/Water Logged.
Before things kind of get crazy again this morning, I had better write. The reason why things have been pretty crazy is because on Thursday night, it poured like no tomorrow and when I arrived in the office on Monday, the office was flooded/water logged. All day Friday it was purely manual labor getting some of the important documents dried out or shredded. It was not a pretty sight. We’ll be getting new carpet as soon as possible hopefully within the week. To add to the misery, I fell on my butt twice while walking down the stairs to the basement. The first time I fell it was not bad, but the second time it hurt quite a lot. Thank goodness I did not break anything. I did as much as I could before leaving early to take a shower and headed to the other job. Since we are looking for an activity director, the human service counselors have been called upon to drive the residents to the different activities and the activity for the evening was miniature golf. I would have played with them, but I was tired from all the moving of boxes and it was just nice to see them in action. Actually it was pretty hilarious come to think about it.
After work on Saturday, I headed to Ann’s house to help with some work around the house but ended up not doing that since it was really hot and humid outside. If I had a choice, I would have been outside, but when the weather gets up there Harley does not work outside. So, I basically chatted and caught up with Ann. They had planned on grilling Iowa thick cut pork chops, but ended up not doing it due to the weather and wind. At the end of the day, it was just nice to sit, chat and catch up with Ann.
It rained again on Sunday morning. All in all it ended up being a pretty quiet day with the residents. Nothing too much to report on that front. Oh, I had brunch with Kristi after Mass and caught up with her since I’ve not seen nor spoken to her in quite some time. She and Brian broke up some time ago and we’ve not really talked about it. I told her that I’m thankful I was not put in the middle of that whole breakup situation. Years ago I had mentioned that if she were to break up with Brian, I’ll be on her side no matter what, but I have come to truly treasure Brian’s friendship over the years. Overall, I have to say that they are amicable with one another.
The rain that we’ve been getting is pretty severe. There are a good number of towns that are flooded and people are talking about the possibility of a repeat of the flood of 1993 which was a major disaster. So far, things have holed up which is a very good thing, but if it continues to rain, it could get nasty. I’m just thankful I’m on the 3rd floor. The amount of people whose homes have been flooded with water is unimaginable. Adding to the rain are tornadoes. That’s the Midwest weather for you.
My work schedule has now changed. I no longer work on Saturdays. Instead, I work at the facility on Monday and Tuesday from 3:45PM – 10:30PM. I really do not mind it because it allows me to have an entire day off (Saturday) and I get to do fun stuff like the Farmers Market which I’ll be going to this Sunday with John. At the same time, I was told that I’ll need to work on Saturdays again if they hire someone to fill my shift on a full time basis. That’s understandable. It’s a deal I made and the way I look at it, every Saturday I have off from now is a personal treat. I’ll just take it on a week by week basis. Everyone will be having their annual evaluation in the coming weeks so we’ll see how I do. There’s been quite a lot of turnover which is a little disheartening, but the core group of people I’ve worked with have remained and that’s a good thing.
Well, I guess that’s all the news from me for this week.
After work on Saturday, I headed to Ann’s house to help with some work around the house but ended up not doing that since it was really hot and humid outside. If I had a choice, I would have been outside, but when the weather gets up there Harley does not work outside. So, I basically chatted and caught up with Ann. They had planned on grilling Iowa thick cut pork chops, but ended up not doing it due to the weather and wind. At the end of the day, it was just nice to sit, chat and catch up with Ann.
It rained again on Sunday morning. All in all it ended up being a pretty quiet day with the residents. Nothing too much to report on that front. Oh, I had brunch with Kristi after Mass and caught up with her since I’ve not seen nor spoken to her in quite some time. She and Brian broke up some time ago and we’ve not really talked about it. I told her that I’m thankful I was not put in the middle of that whole breakup situation. Years ago I had mentioned that if she were to break up with Brian, I’ll be on her side no matter what, but I have come to truly treasure Brian’s friendship over the years. Overall, I have to say that they are amicable with one another.
The rain that we’ve been getting is pretty severe. There are a good number of towns that are flooded and people are talking about the possibility of a repeat of the flood of 1993 which was a major disaster. So far, things have holed up which is a very good thing, but if it continues to rain, it could get nasty. I’m just thankful I’m on the 3rd floor. The amount of people whose homes have been flooded with water is unimaginable. Adding to the rain are tornadoes. That’s the Midwest weather for you.
My work schedule has now changed. I no longer work on Saturdays. Instead, I work at the facility on Monday and Tuesday from 3:45PM – 10:30PM. I really do not mind it because it allows me to have an entire day off (Saturday) and I get to do fun stuff like the Farmers Market which I’ll be going to this Sunday with John. At the same time, I was told that I’ll need to work on Saturdays again if they hire someone to fill my shift on a full time basis. That’s understandable. It’s a deal I made and the way I look at it, every Saturday I have off from now is a personal treat. I’ll just take it on a week by week basis. Everyone will be having their annual evaluation in the coming weeks so we’ll see how I do. There’s been quite a lot of turnover which is a little disheartening, but the core group of people I’ve worked with have remained and that’s a good thing.
Well, I guess that’s all the news from me for this week.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Dan's Priesthood Ordination.
Well, one word would sum up the weekend festivities – inspiring. Dan’s priesthood ordination took place over the weekend. John, Carola and I were the “Iowa” representatives and the three of us had a fantastic time.
We left DM on Friday at 9AM and on our way to Osh Kosh stopped for lunch. Speaking of lunch, Joh and Carola could not believe I’ve never had Hardees before so that’s where we stopped for lunch. I must say that the burger was pretty good and definitely more flavorful than McD. John drove the Iowa leg while I drove the Wisconsin leg. Carola provided the entertainment. Oh, Steve was given a GPS system and John asked if we could borrow it for our trip. I got that baby working in five minutes and it’s a pretty nifty machine to say the least. The wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze me. The three of us gave the system different names and I think we settled on Lina (Steve’s old car was named Lina!) You really can’t get lost using the GPS system and even Carola was most impressed by it.
The drive to Osh Kosh took us roughly six hours and everyone got checked in just fine. Carola’s hotel was a mile and a half north from where John and I were staying. Once we arrived, we called Dan to let him know that we were in Osh Kosh and he invited over to his house at around 8PM just to hang out. He had the rehearsal that evening but thought it would be nice to have a couple of close friends and family over that evening. Carola, John and I had dinner at this local restaurant and the food was pretty good. We had no problem finding Dan’s house after dinner and I immediately recognized one of the guys who was already there. We were in seminary together and sang in the contemporary choir. He’s from New Hampshire and knew Dan because Dan lived on the same floor as him. Damien and I caught up with one another so that was nice. Before too long, Dan made it home after the rehearsal and had planned on grilling some brats and hotdogs. It was a very low key get together. The evening was the first time I met Dan’s dad, Chuck and his stepmother, Angie. Both of them were extremely gracious host. Now, anyone who knows Dan will tell you that he’s a pretty wired and excitable guy, but the three of us agreed that he was most definitely excited and anxious about the ordination tomorrow. He tried his best to look cool, calm and collected, but we knew better. My advice to Dan before we left was to get some rest since tomorrow would be a big day.
The ordination was at 10AM and we arrived at the cathedral in Green Bay a little after 9AM. Needless to say there were already people there and on our way over, we passed this school bus that had a whole bunch of Jesus stuff decorated around it and I commented that it would not surprise me one bit of the people on the bus were headed to Dan’s ordination. Lo and behold, not even five minutes had passed when the bus pulled into the parking lot! Over the years, Dad has been extremely involved with the boys’ scouts and youth ministry. Those on the bus were people from his youth ministry program and they were definitely there to celebrate his ordination. Dan was the only one being ordained but he managed to pack the entire cathedral. Kind of tells you what people think of him and all the lives he’s touched. Bishop Morneau was the ordaining bishop and he was a very personal bishop in my opinion. He started his homily by saying, “I have a couple of words for Dan and for the rest of you, feel free to listen, BUT if you’re not interested, I’m sure there’s the bulletin you can read!” His comment brought laughter to the whole congregation. I was very impressed by him and never once did he put himself in the spotlight. He knew it was Dan’s day and the focus was to be on Dan, not him. Oh, as the priests processed in, I saw more guys from Mundelein and I’m glad they were there. All in all the ordination took roughly an hour and a half which is pretty standard and everything went smoothly. I was teary eyed a number of times just reflecting on the years I’ve known Dan and all the different up and down experiences he went through while in seminary. Ordination was the culmination of all of those experiences for him.
There was a light reception after the ordination, and I managed to catch up with some of the guys I knew from Mundelein. I told them that we’ll catch up some more at the reception after his first Mass. The guys looked happy to see me. We headed back to Osh Kosh after the reception since that’s where his first Mass would take place. Since there was quite a lot of free time, John and Carola napped while I decided to change into shorts and walk around a little. The weather was perfect for being outside and I thought it would have been a waste to spend it inside. While walking, I called Adele to wish her “Happy 30th Birthday” and that was great to chat with her. She sounds great and shared with me some of the things she did for her birthday. Although I did not sweat while walking, I decided to take a shower when I got back to the hotel just to freshen up. Dan’s first Mass/Mass of Thanksgiving was at 5:30PM and we arrived the church at around 5PM. Carola had the first reading, and I the second. We needed to check in to make sure things were OK. As luck had it, we were sitting pretty much towards the front. Dan’s parents had divorced some years back and it was a pretty nasty divorce, but before Mass started, he presented his mom and dad a present and they did the same. That was really touching. The readings went fine and overall it was a very positive Mass celebration. Dan had informed me that he would not be preaching and had asked his spiritual director to preach. Fr. Larry Hennessey is a well loved faculty member at Mundelein and probably the best homilist I’ve ever encountered. He has a way of reaching out to everyone and his homilies are always inspiring. Larry did not disappoint and there were a couple of times when he was a little chocked up while giving the homily. I truly believe that people were more than inspired by his words. I pretty much knew all the music and tend to sing a little louder during ordinations for some reason or another. I blame the Spirit!
After Mass a couple of people commented on my singing and asked me if I was in seminary or was thinking of seminary. I politely told them that I was in seminary and left it at that. Funny how some people just peg you as seminary material! I’ve encountered that before that so was not fazed by it. I told Carola that the three of us (John concelebrated with Dan) represented Iowa very well and Dan would be proud of us.
Dinner was a buffet of hamburgers and BBQ chicken with sides. It was definitely the way to go since there were quite a lot of people at the reception. I did catch up with three guys from Mundelein and two of them were in Pre-Theology with me. One in particular is from Mexico, and would have been ordained with Greg and Stan but ended up spending an extra year working at a parish prior to ordination. We had a blast chatting with one another and I now have his e mail address so we’re definitely not going to lose touch with one another. It was nice to just chat with the guys and find out how ministry is coming along. From the sound of things, it’s going well for the guys and I could not be happier for them. Dan was in his elements at the reception lighting up the dance floor and just having the time of his life. John, Carola and I left at around 10PM since we were headed back for DM rather early the next day. Dan did manage to spend some time with us and you could just see how happy he was.
We left Osh Kosh at 8AM because John was headed to Conception, MO for the annual priest retreat later that afternoon. The drive home was uneventful and all in all the three of us agreed that it was a very good weekend and we’re glad we got to share in Dan’s celebration. For me personally, it was good to reconnect with some of the guys from Mundelein, and just be present at the ordination for Dan. I had informed Dan on the phone that I had elected myself the official representative of St. Catherine of Siena/Drake Newman Community and he told me that it could not have been a better person. My prayer for Dan is that he continues to be a holy priest ministering to the people and not changing who he is as a person. Priesthood has a way of doing that to some people and not in a good way. I’m not worried about Dan.
The ordination would be the last time I’ll be going on any mini vacation until I go back to Malaysia for the long vacation and in many ways, that’s A OK by me. It kind of just happened that everything took place three or four weekends in a row.
We left DM on Friday at 9AM and on our way to Osh Kosh stopped for lunch. Speaking of lunch, Joh and Carola could not believe I’ve never had Hardees before so that’s where we stopped for lunch. I must say that the burger was pretty good and definitely more flavorful than McD. John drove the Iowa leg while I drove the Wisconsin leg. Carola provided the entertainment. Oh, Steve was given a GPS system and John asked if we could borrow it for our trip. I got that baby working in five minutes and it’s a pretty nifty machine to say the least. The wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze me. The three of us gave the system different names and I think we settled on Lina (Steve’s old car was named Lina!) You really can’t get lost using the GPS system and even Carola was most impressed by it.
The drive to Osh Kosh took us roughly six hours and everyone got checked in just fine. Carola’s hotel was a mile and a half north from where John and I were staying. Once we arrived, we called Dan to let him know that we were in Osh Kosh and he invited over to his house at around 8PM just to hang out. He had the rehearsal that evening but thought it would be nice to have a couple of close friends and family over that evening. Carola, John and I had dinner at this local restaurant and the food was pretty good. We had no problem finding Dan’s house after dinner and I immediately recognized one of the guys who was already there. We were in seminary together and sang in the contemporary choir. He’s from New Hampshire and knew Dan because Dan lived on the same floor as him. Damien and I caught up with one another so that was nice. Before too long, Dan made it home after the rehearsal and had planned on grilling some brats and hotdogs. It was a very low key get together. The evening was the first time I met Dan’s dad, Chuck and his stepmother, Angie. Both of them were extremely gracious host. Now, anyone who knows Dan will tell you that he’s a pretty wired and excitable guy, but the three of us agreed that he was most definitely excited and anxious about the ordination tomorrow. He tried his best to look cool, calm and collected, but we knew better. My advice to Dan before we left was to get some rest since tomorrow would be a big day.
The ordination was at 10AM and we arrived at the cathedral in Green Bay a little after 9AM. Needless to say there were already people there and on our way over, we passed this school bus that had a whole bunch of Jesus stuff decorated around it and I commented that it would not surprise me one bit of the people on the bus were headed to Dan’s ordination. Lo and behold, not even five minutes had passed when the bus pulled into the parking lot! Over the years, Dad has been extremely involved with the boys’ scouts and youth ministry. Those on the bus were people from his youth ministry program and they were definitely there to celebrate his ordination. Dan was the only one being ordained but he managed to pack the entire cathedral. Kind of tells you what people think of him and all the lives he’s touched. Bishop Morneau was the ordaining bishop and he was a very personal bishop in my opinion. He started his homily by saying, “I have a couple of words for Dan and for the rest of you, feel free to listen, BUT if you’re not interested, I’m sure there’s the bulletin you can read!” His comment brought laughter to the whole congregation. I was very impressed by him and never once did he put himself in the spotlight. He knew it was Dan’s day and the focus was to be on Dan, not him. Oh, as the priests processed in, I saw more guys from Mundelein and I’m glad they were there. All in all the ordination took roughly an hour and a half which is pretty standard and everything went smoothly. I was teary eyed a number of times just reflecting on the years I’ve known Dan and all the different up and down experiences he went through while in seminary. Ordination was the culmination of all of those experiences for him.
There was a light reception after the ordination, and I managed to catch up with some of the guys I knew from Mundelein. I told them that we’ll catch up some more at the reception after his first Mass. The guys looked happy to see me. We headed back to Osh Kosh after the reception since that’s where his first Mass would take place. Since there was quite a lot of free time, John and Carola napped while I decided to change into shorts and walk around a little. The weather was perfect for being outside and I thought it would have been a waste to spend it inside. While walking, I called Adele to wish her “Happy 30th Birthday” and that was great to chat with her. She sounds great and shared with me some of the things she did for her birthday. Although I did not sweat while walking, I decided to take a shower when I got back to the hotel just to freshen up. Dan’s first Mass/Mass of Thanksgiving was at 5:30PM and we arrived the church at around 5PM. Carola had the first reading, and I the second. We needed to check in to make sure things were OK. As luck had it, we were sitting pretty much towards the front. Dan’s parents had divorced some years back and it was a pretty nasty divorce, but before Mass started, he presented his mom and dad a present and they did the same. That was really touching. The readings went fine and overall it was a very positive Mass celebration. Dan had informed me that he would not be preaching and had asked his spiritual director to preach. Fr. Larry Hennessey is a well loved faculty member at Mundelein and probably the best homilist I’ve ever encountered. He has a way of reaching out to everyone and his homilies are always inspiring. Larry did not disappoint and there were a couple of times when he was a little chocked up while giving the homily. I truly believe that people were more than inspired by his words. I pretty much knew all the music and tend to sing a little louder during ordinations for some reason or another. I blame the Spirit!
After Mass a couple of people commented on my singing and asked me if I was in seminary or was thinking of seminary. I politely told them that I was in seminary and left it at that. Funny how some people just peg you as seminary material! I’ve encountered that before that so was not fazed by it. I told Carola that the three of us (John concelebrated with Dan) represented Iowa very well and Dan would be proud of us.
Dinner was a buffet of hamburgers and BBQ chicken with sides. It was definitely the way to go since there were quite a lot of people at the reception. I did catch up with three guys from Mundelein and two of them were in Pre-Theology with me. One in particular is from Mexico, and would have been ordained with Greg and Stan but ended up spending an extra year working at a parish prior to ordination. We had a blast chatting with one another and I now have his e mail address so we’re definitely not going to lose touch with one another. It was nice to just chat with the guys and find out how ministry is coming along. From the sound of things, it’s going well for the guys and I could not be happier for them. Dan was in his elements at the reception lighting up the dance floor and just having the time of his life. John, Carola and I left at around 10PM since we were headed back for DM rather early the next day. Dan did manage to spend some time with us and you could just see how happy he was.
We left Osh Kosh at 8AM because John was headed to Conception, MO for the annual priest retreat later that afternoon. The drive home was uneventful and all in all the three of us agreed that it was a very good weekend and we’re glad we got to share in Dan’s celebration. For me personally, it was good to reconnect with some of the guys from Mundelein, and just be present at the ordination for Dan. I had informed Dan on the phone that I had elected myself the official representative of St. Catherine of Siena/Drake Newman Community and he told me that it could not have been a better person. My prayer for Dan is that he continues to be a holy priest ministering to the people and not changing who he is as a person. Priesthood has a way of doing that to some people and not in a good way. I’m not worried about Dan.
The ordination would be the last time I’ll be going on any mini vacation until I go back to Malaysia for the long vacation and in many ways, that’s A OK by me. It kind of just happened that everything took place three or four weekends in a row.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
