Last weekend I was at Subiaco for the annual alumni reunion. It was my class' 40th anniversary of graduation. The abbot invited me to be the main celebrant and preach the Alumni Reunion Mass in the Abbey Church. It went off smoothly and everyone was edified.
This coming Monday I go back to Subiaco for the annual monastic retreat and chapter meetings. It is always good to go back and see the brethren and be released from the duties of pastoring. There are, however, several parishioners that are on death's door, and it is likely that one or another of them will die next week, so my plans are subject to change.
The third week of June will see me and our organist-choirmaster, Michael Odom, in Chicago for the Church Music Association of America's annual convention. This should be good for both of us.
There is a garage sale going on the old parish hall this morning. We are going to tear it down and build an education building in its place. This is something that we sorely need, as even with our new space that we've enjoyed for the past eight years, we have been out of room. While I don't believe that growth is automatically a sign of the Spirit at work, it is sometimes and indicator. I pray that this is so in this case.
