What a Week!

It's hot! In case we don't mention that enough, we wanted to be sure that got said right up front. The highs each day have been right around 100 - some a little above and some a little below - with heat index of between 105 and 110. So, the middle of the afternoon is pretty much spent inside somewhere. That should cover the obligatory "it's hot" announcement. For anyone familiar with South Texas in summer, we're sure this isn't news.

Here's the rundown of what's happened so far:

Sunday, June 21:

4am - Ken drinks, and barely keeps down, his second Red Bull.

5am - Ken is "fooled" by an errant road sign (that's his story and he's sticking to it!) into taking an exit he shouldn't have and decides to back up the exit ramp and get back on the highway since we're the only ones on the road. He forgets the trailer is connected and smashes in the side of the van behind the wheel.

7am - We stopped at a rest stop about 1.5 hours from Robstown. John had exploded and needed to be sanitized. Caity gets a

nosebleed that won't quit. After an hour and a half we get in the car with the intention of taking Caity straight to the hospital when we get to Robstown. 10 minutes after we leave the rest stop, the nosebleed stops. Praise God!
10:30am - We arrived at our new home for the month and

unloaded the trailer. After Mass at St. Anthony's (a SOLT parish), we spent the day with our family in Texas - the Ponds. Mike and Melinda had a cookout and the kids played in the pool.

We were all thrilled that Fr. Gerry came by for the cookout as well. We all had a great time reconnecting and unwinding after the long trip.

Monday, June 22:

Mass and Prayer - We started to participate in the daily Mass and prayer schedule of the community here.

Orientation - We got to meet everyone here and were introduced to the ground rules of the community. This helped us to get our bearings a bit and feel more comfortable in a new environment.

Lay Formation Program - We went to formation in the evening. Joseph Biberstein gave a great talk for the Image and Likeness of God facilitation. They seem to have a pretty large, committed group participating here in South Texas.

Tuesday, June 23:

Abortion Mill - After Mass, we went to Corpus Christi to pray outside of an abortion mill. It was really hot, even though we left before noon. Caity was in her element trying to sidewalk counsel as much as possible given the setup there.

First Community Meal - Every evening from Tuesday through Friday, there's a community meal where everyone who is available (about 25 total with us here) eats dinner together. Each day has a different cook(s), but everyone comes together for the meal and to help clean up.

Wednesday, June 24:

Work - Did some work around the Ecclesial Team Formation Center (ET Center - where we're staying). Mike Rizzio gave us a tour of the churches, houses of members of Our Lady's Society, and parks in the area.

John Michael Rizzio's 10th Birthday! Congratulations!

Thursday, June 25:

Nursing Home - All of us except Christine and Mary (still coughing), went to the nursing home with Sr. Margaret Mary, Sr. Amelia, and Maura to pray the Rosary with some of the residents and help with a Communion service for them. We finally got to pray the Rosary in Spanish like we've been practicing. Brigid and Rachel were so thrilled to each get to lead a decade. Brian and Allie did great leading their decades.

Assembly Meeting - Ken went to a meeting to see if there's anything we can do to help with the assembly. It's so obvious that many people have worked very hard for a long time already. Hopefully, we can do something that will help in some way.

Friday, June 26:

Home Visit - All of us except Ken and Mary (still coughing) went to visit a family and pray the Rosary (in Spanish again!) with them. Another great experience and opportunity to serve.

Liturgy Prep - All of us went to Casa San Jose, where Fr. Flanagan (the founder of Our Lady's Society) and a number of other priests of Our Lady's Society (sorry, I can't remember everyone who's living there) are living for liturgy prep for Sunday. We started by taking turns reading the whole Mass from the opening prayer to the closing prayer, including the readings, psalms, and the Gospel. Fr. Flanagan then guided us through the process of understanding what God is teaching us this week through the Liturgy. We got a lot from this, including the kids. Brigid was there to answer all of Fr. Flanagan's rhetorical questions for him. She and Mary (still coughing) love to be able to answer questions in a group setting like that.

Saturday, June 27:

Community Mass and Brunch - The whole local community gathered at Our Lady of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi (funny how that works) for Mass and brunch.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday are family time. We'll cover them in separate posts.

Normal Daily Schedule:

6:30 to 9am - Adoration, Morning Prayer, Benediction, Mass

12 noon - Midday prayers

3pm - Divine Mercy Chaplet

5pm - Evening Prayer

6pm (usually) - Dinner

It's been a very grace-filled, amazing, and difficult (in a good way) week. We're sure that we're starting to show some signs of stress (Melinda & Mike - don't laugh too hard at the use of "starting" here), so please pray for us. Overall, it's been a great time for us as a family. We'll be following up with more posts and pictures on individual things, like the beach on Saturday, now that we've laid out the general schedule.

Ave Maria!

Ken and Christine and the rest ...