Faith Like a Child

I have just gotten back from a half day retreat. Before I get into the details, I just want to say thank you all for your prayers! God has been hearing them and my complaints about traffic/driving and gave me the most perfect half hour journey today. We had our retreat at the Shrine of St. Joseph about half an hour away. The drive was perfect: a 10 mile stretch on a lightly trafficked highway where I got to go 70mph! Once you got off the interstate, we then drove through back streets lined with trees that every once and a while would surprise us with some yellow, orange, or red leaves. The Shrine was right in the middle of this rural fairytale land. It was the most enjoyable time I have had in the car since I got here.

This dedication to Our Lady of Fatima is where I spent the morning meditating at the Shrine

There was very little structure to the day, but there was a theme: faith. As some of you know, Pope Benedict XVI (my hero), has declared this year from October 11, 2012 until November 24, 2013 to be the year of faith in honor of the 50th anniversary of Vatican II. When asked to share what we were going to do for ourselves and the students we serve in light of this inspiration, I found myself meditating on this stained glass window:

This image is one of the windows in the chapel at Our Lady of Sorrows where the missionaries go to Mass on Saturdays. I am drawn to the little girl in the yellow dress. I realize that this is how I want to live this year of faith. I want to continually seek Jesus' side. I want to clutch His robe so that I can hold on to nothing else. I want to continually look upon His face with complete and utter love and devotion. And perhaps more than anything, I want to feel His loving gaze into my soul and His gentle hand upon my head.

So now that I live in the north, and we actually have a change of seasons, I have realized that people love doing 'seasonal' things. So things like apple picking, pumpkin spiced anything, scarves, and colored leaves are all the topic of conversation around here. So on Saturday, myself, the other women missionaries, and two other students went apple picking! It was my first time and I had a blast! It was fun to wander through the orchard, looking for non-rotted apples. We ended up walking away with three bags full of apples between the five of us.

Caitlyn climbed the tree to grab an illusive good looking apple.

Is there something on my face?

I had grand plans for my apples! I wanted to bake apple crisp. So as soon as we got home, I picked up the ingredients and called a student to head over for a baking frenzy. It was so delicious! While we were eating our straight-from-the-oven warm crisp with vanilla ice cream we watched Clue. Made in 1985 and based on the board game, it was so ridiculous it was hilarious! What a great Saturday!

We brought the rest of the apples to the brothers' house on Monday. We were invited there for vespers followed by an authentic Mexican meal. There are 5 professed brothers/priests of the Community of St. John who live and work at Our Lady of Mt Carmel Parish, two of whom also work at Seton Hall (I mentioned them in a recent post). Br. Martin was a chef before he entered, so everything we cooked had to get his seal of approval. The food was delicious and the company was impeccable. I am truly very blessed.

On Friday the FOCUS missionaries head to PA for the Atlantic regional gathering. I can't wait to be reunited with my fellow missionaries from the surrounding states. Yet, a missionary's work is never done. Please pray for peace for all the missionaries this weekend. Pray that we can leave all the to-do lists at home and truly enjoy each others' company. Pray that our to-do lists are blessed and get done, despite the way the hours disappear during the week. Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers!