Trinity Sunday

When I was a wee kindergartener (over forty years ago!) our family belonged to Holy Trinity parish in Norfolk, Virginia.  It was an old established parish, one of the oldest in the city.  A walk to the beach and a short drive to the Navy base where my Dad was stationed, the air smelled of the sea and flower gardens and history. Stone walls and high hedges cloistered an old convent on the block-long grounds, a magnificent magnolia tree shaded the two-story K-8 school building -- and looking down on everything and everyone carved in bas relief high upon the facade of the church was an enormous crucified Christ.

 In my kindergartener's perspective the stone-carved crucifix was as-big-as-God-must-really-be. It hung over the main doors of the church, dominating the architecture of the entire block.  From my classroom on the first floor across the street, I had to crane my neck clear heavenward to see up into His face.  He looked down and I looked up, and, though the eyes on the crucifix were hard stone, the reality of Him somewhere-up-there was as real as the guardian angel sitting on my shoulder.  And the real  Face I saw was kind and gentle and soft to touch.

 Later on, when I was an eighth grader looking out the second-story windows, Christ's arms were eye-level, outstretched, and welcoming. I couldn't quite catch His eye any more because He looked downward.  But I knew He was thinking of me; He often startled me into remembering Him when my mind and eyes wandered out the window during class time.   Caught again!  I could imagine in my mind's eye the twinkle in His eye as he nudged my attention back to my work with a tilt of His head. And I'd glance over at the flowers on the magnolia tree peeking into the side windows, take a drought of the heady fragrance coming in the open windows and tell Him, "Alright, alright..."  and turn back to square roots -- knowing He was still watching -- and I really had no choice. 

No getting around it.  There was the Son, together with the Father, the Holy Ghost -- the Holy Trinity, the patrons of our school --  all around us like the scent of the magnolias, like the big old tree itself, planted and taking root under us and in us, shading us, looking over us like the giant crucified Christ. It didn't matter where I was, I couldn't hide from Him.   The Holy Trinity, the real Being of God, present in my little baby soul at Baptism, had taken a deep breath and filled my lungs within the walls of my kindergarten classroom at Holy Trinity school.  A half century of dear teaching Sisters fanned the very air with that breath of God, and it swirled through the hallways and out the doors to the rose gardens behind the convent walls, curling through the walls of the convent and the rectory, out even to the seesaws on the playground and back to its beginning, under the giant crucifix, through the doors of the church, and into the door of the tabernacle...

  Where I still find Him today, under the much smaller crucifix at our little parish church.  Like the magnolia, the Blessed Trinity waits there, as always, to fill the corners of my soul and my life and all I have to do is take a deep breath and fill my lungs.

OFFERING TO THE HOLY TRINITY

MOST Holy and Adorable Trinity, One God in Three Persons, I praise Thee
and give Thee thanks for all the favors Thou has bestowed upon me. Thy
goodness has preserved me until now, I offer Thee my whole being and
in particular, all my thoughts, words, and deeds, together with all the trials I may
undergo this day. Give them Thy blessing. May Thy divine Love animate them
and may they serve Thy greater glory.

I make this morning offering in union with the Divine intentions of Jesus Christ
Who offers himself daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and in union with
Mary, His Virgin Mother and our Mother, who was always the faithful handmaid
of the Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Amen.




A Blessed Feast of the Holy Trinity to Everyone!

*Repost from 2011

A Half Dozen -

"Catchings Up"

(Early April, 2013)

First, Easter Celebrations Pictures...

1) We had the big Holy Thursday Mass at our parish with procession last week, of course.  Michelle went to Denver to spend Easter with my parents and siblings (and a slew of her friends), so it was only Theresa, Cathy, and Anna adding Davis voices to the choir (and they sounded lovely!).  As you see below, Anna did double duty, though, also participating in the procession...

  bringing up the rear behind William -- who, being the shortest by far, led the rest of the processors...

 right behind Gabriel -- who was serving as torch bearer -- on his very first outing as an altar boy!

Here he is, on the right, next to the altar rail.  

We were so proud of Gabriel; he did a great job!  Perfect, in fact.
But, still, after all these years, and four altar server sons besides Gabe --
who all started out as torch bearers -- it still amazes me that they trust these
 little guys to walk around carrying fire...
Their Guardian Angels are very much on guard, no doubt!

2) But, really the biggest news in the life of Gabriel this spring, is that he was finally
able to become and altar boy because he received his First Holy Communion
on Palm Sunday.  

Unfortunately, due to a ridiculous comedy of errors, this is the only picture -- taken with my phone after Mass.  Gabe didn't care, of course, whether I got pictures or not.  He was properly disposed! But, this Momma was a a twitter of a mess because neither of my cameras worked for the occasion.  ARGH!  I'm over it now, yes.  And the lingering impression of the Big Day is sweet.  I'm ashamed I was upset at the time! Gabe is such a good little guy; he was focused totally on what was important.  He's already working toward Confirmation now -- has his saint picked out and everything.  :0) There's no stopping this little  Catholic; he's already a soldier of Christ!

3) Fast forward to Easter:

Here they are -- the kiddos, after Midnight Easter Mass, which ended somewhere around 2:30 a.m. (Ugh.  Yaaaawwwwnnnnn...) See how chipper they all look, though?  Dan and I did not look so chipper.  (You'll notice we're not in the picture....)

But, the reason the children are looking so bright-eyed at 2:30 a.m.?  You can see it at left. The Easter Candy Bar.  We set all the goodies out Easter eve and everybody enjoyed from 2:30 a.m. Easter, until this morning when I bagged up what was left to freeze or store.  We'll take a little out once a week or so until it's gone.  Maybe.  It's not like any of us needs this stuff.  We started on a sugar rush in the wee hours of the morning Sunday that may last us until the 4th of July.

4)  After being complete sugar-sotted pigs and slugs (sligs? pugs?) for a couple of days, we decided we needed to clean up our act on Easter Tuesday, and had a Pride and Prejudice marathon (the long A&E version), with a tea party at the intermission.  Here, as promised earlier, are a couple photo clicks I slipped in between scones and English Breakfast tea...

Good job on the pinkies, Anna!

Cathy, scone baker par excellence! Also served: tomato
basil and chicken salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, blueberry scones with
lime curd and mock Devon cream, and coconut vanilla cheesecake.
It was all yummy!

All the tea party goers (minus the photographer and the little boys who were banished
to the back room with their own goodies for a "man party," wherein they wrestled
on the school room couch, watched Abbot and Costello, and got scone  crumbs
all over the floor.) L-R: Anna, Theresa, the Child Jesus, Cathy, and June.

And in other news...

5) This guy is coming home:

We are glad to get the Dominic-themes of the
house soundtrack back again, regardless. :0)

Because he's had a relapse of ill health, Dominic will be driving back to Colorado from Omaha this weekend. He's been unable to kick the Epstein Barr virus that's been plaguing him, and he's missed more of his classes than he's been able to make at the seminary, so we all agreed that it would be best in the long run for him to head home for another extended rest cure. We're determined to kick this thing once and for all through the rest of this spring and summer, and are looking at this "cure time" as just a slight setback.  Dominic says he has every intention of re-entering the Religious life again as soon as he gets a completely clean bill of health.  It's a difficult cross for him, this delay of all his hopes and plans, but he (and all of us) feel the hand of God in all of this.  Please keep Dominic in your prayers -- body, mind, and spirit?  We're so happy to have him home -- but then, we'll be so happy for him to leave and get on with his real goals!

6) And this guy is leaving home:

Apparently, Paul did such a good job in his training mission in Jordan the last time around, that the Marine Corps had to have him out there again.  Darn him for being so good at what he does!  He's taking his men back to the desert this Monday night, leaving Nicole and Gavin (who's two now -- and all of it!) back at Camp Pendleton.  This excursion is supposed to only take a month or so. We're all hoping that's true.  Since he returned from Afghanistan last summer, he's had to leave his family every six weeks or so for a month or more out on assignment or training exercises.  It'd be awfully nice for the Paul Davis family to have a decent length of time to enjoy one another, for heaven's sake!  Anyway...  Prayers, please please -- for his safety in that always-tense part of the world??  And that God will be good and get him home soon -- and for more than a month or two this time around?

Family Week: Monday

There's no vocabulary

For love within a family, love that's lived in,

But not looked at, love within the light of which

All else is seen, the love within which

All other love finds speech.

This love is silent.

~ T.S. Eliot

Or maybe not so much.

Wordless Wednesday

Takes Ten

Top to bottom, L-R:
 William (5),
Gabe (6), Anna (8),
Theresa (12), Michelle (15), Cathy (10),
Dominic (17),  Paul (23),  Kevin (21), Jon (19

Thankful Thursday

 Please celebrate with us!

We are thrice blessed:

As of Holy Saturday...

Our daughter-in-law, Nicole, is now our God-daughter, too!

Paul and Nicole's marriage is blessed again.

                And little Maddie is blessed, too!





More Blessings at the home of Thankful Thursday!