Our Joseph

On Sunday,Joseph spent the evening with us and I am absolutely smitten to see how enamored the kids are with him! He is hilarious, so kind and gentle and he always says exactly the right thing to the kids to love them, have fun with them and teach them all at the same time. Really, he is such an amazing young man. We didn't see him as much this past spring semester, but we will be more diligent in bugging him next fall after he returns from his summer ventures.

It fills me with much hope to see the fine seminarians that we will soon have as priests to go out to teach and be Christ's presence to our world. May the Lord bless Joseph's education and the work God has for him now and in times to come.

"Exorcizo te, immunde spiritus, in nomine Patris + et Filii + et Spiritus + Sancti..."

Today we had baby Benedict baptized in the older form of the Latin rite liturgy. The Baptism begins in the narthex (entrance) of the church with an exorcism of unclean spirits. Next, the family processes down the nave of the church chanting the Creed followed by the Our Father. Throughout, the child is exorcized, blessed, anointed with oil, impressed with salt ("salt is the symbol of wisdom which gives a relish for the sweetness of divine nourishment") and finally baptized with water and words of the sign of the cross. Parents and godparents partake in "The Renunciation of Satan" (cf. the scene from Godfather Pt. II!) where they reject Satan and all of his evil works and promises. The baby's white garment (in olden days worn for 8 straight days by the newly baptized) symbolizing the purity of a soul cleansed from all sin. The godparents are given the baptismal candle as a sign to keep the new light of faith burning brightly for the child no matter what the circumstances.

A beautiful and symbolic liturgy administered by Fr. Ubel - our thanks to him. We had an open house with a few family and friends beforehand. Danish ebleskeevers (sp???) were feasted upon by all.

Good times. Deo gratias.

A day for the pool

The Twins

I am getting a small taste of what it is like to have twins around - it is fun! Here are Isaac and James. We get to hang out with them on Thursdays and Fridays. The sleeping arrangements are a bit tight, but you learn how to make it work! They are sweet and good boys at the very fun age of 2. We are lucky to have such a full life with friends to hang out with! These two guys are very identical, they will definitely be able to pull a few tricks on people as they get older... :)

Vocation gift

Our friend Rose recently discerned her vocation to religious life, having always dreamed of getting married and having kids. Her story is amazing. God clearly has chosen her and called her to serve Him in vows. She was named after Rose of Lima (read about the saint here), and entered into her budding order (not yet fully approved) on the Feast of St. Rose of Lima. Again, her story is just too amazing and powerful to not take note of here. We chose to give her a gorgeous hand-painted image of St. Rose of Lima that I purchased when in Peru this past spring. She should have this in the convent. Thanks be to God for His love and making Himself known to us through prayer and fidelity. He has been good to Rose by clearly revealing Himself and His plan to her, and now it is her turn to serve His Church.

DEO GRATIAS MAXIMAS!
Saint Rose of Lima, pray for us.

Trinity ties

On Tuesday I was privileged to have my former student and soccer player Mary Reinhardt come over and hang out with me and the kids for the morning. Although I keep fairly up to date on Trinity events through Mike teaching there, it is altogether another feat to keep tabs on how students and alumni are doing. I ran into Mary last weekend at Trinity and she said she'd like to stop by and say hello. Of course, I was thrilled!

Mary is now in the nursing program at the U of M, she lives in a household in dinkytown with around 30-40 (!) other young Christians, is involved in many different activities, and comes from a large family to keep up with. Ah, yes, college is such a unique time in life - certainly a busy and fun one.

One of the main aspects of teaching at Trinity I loved so much was forming good relationships with the girls. The Trinity lot of students is an intelligent, bright, and energetic group of kids and I was lucky to teach freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. As these highschool kids graduate and move on from Trinity, it is a blessing to form more of an 'adult' relationship with them as we become peers and often have a great deal in common.

Unfortunately, Isaac was having an unusually difficult day while Mary was here. She, however, is absolutely wonderful with kids and it didn't faze her.

Cheers to Trinity ties!

Isaac's Last Day Today!

Our icon instructor in action...

When Cynthia and I took an icon course, this Russian Orthodox fellow was our teacher; he's a very passionate fellow and well known throughout the world as an iconography master.

Here's Vladislav Andrejev working on the parish of St. Michael, in St. Michael, Minnesota. The first image is the dome bearing the icon of Christ the Teacher. Very cool stuff...
I hope to take another icon class sooner than later.

KEEP YOUR SPEAKERS ON TO HEAR VLADISLAV.

Vatican Splendors exhibit

This past Sunday we went to the "Vatican Splendors" exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Society. We met our pals Pat and Krystal (with their 6 month old, Charles) there. It was a nice exhibit. Lots of different things to see from vestments to Missals to chalices to pieces of St. Peter's bones to Swiss Guard uniforms. I snapped this photo outside... and one illegal pic of St. Peter's reliquary!

Friend and author, Liz Kelly

Also at the Catholic Studies 'end of the summer session' picnic yesterday was my classmate and friend, Liz Kelly. Liz is a very talented writer and has recently landed a new position as managing editor of Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought & Culture. Very cool. Here she is with little Faustina at the picnic.

Check out a couple of Liz's other works:

May Crowning, Mass, and Merton and Other Reasons I Love Being Catholic


and The Rosary: A Path into Prayer