Wendy and me, our excellent adventure, Day 4 at the 2018 National Diaconate Congress

I can't believe we have been here for four days; even though I live just 60 miles away I have not spent anywhere this amount of time in New Orleans in a very long time.  So this is actually Day 3 of the Congress and it started early with my beautiful wake-up view of sunrise over Algiers Point and the Mississippi River.  I got up early so I could grab breakfast then go watch a little live radio broadcasting by Teresa Tomeo and her show Catholic Connection.

Mass was offered first and our presider and homilist was Bishop Frederick Campbell of the Diocese of Columbus OH.  He also was our morning keynote speaker.  He spoke beautifully of the history of the Permanent Diaconate and the need for the Permanent Diaconate.  He was followed by the Bishop of Jefferson City MO who gave a stirring speech using information from recent diaconate surveys conducted by CARA.  He shared a Top 10 list of why we need deacons and some things that need to be ironed out for the diaconate to grow.  Truly wonderful talk.

Wendy and I rendezvoused for lunch after she spent a relaxing morning upstairs.  She did get to talk to her mom and that made her feel good as she was very upbeat and reported some recent progress in her physical rehabilitation.  We enjoyed a New Orleans style Cobb salad with fresh shrimp and crabmeat.

Wendy joined me for the next talk by Teresa Tomeo and her husband Deacon Dominic Pastore.  They gave a testimony to their own marriage, complete with a candid discussion of past problems and how they made it all work, even through the added realities of adding an ordained minister to their own couple identity.  This couple took the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and related them to marriage; I hope to post them soon on this blog.

The special event of the day was our afternoon/evening spent at the world famous World War II Museum.  We had free reign of the place for 2 hours before we attended the 5 pm movie presentation titled Beyond All Borders.  It was a beautifully produced movie of the events of Pearl Harbor and then the subsequent war and eventual victory in both Europe and the Pacific.  A reception followed with food and beverage and then we heard a bonus talk about the Priests at Dachau, where the idea of  a Permanent Diaconate took flight in those horrific conditions of a brutal concentration camp.  The speaker was Dr. Dianne Trafflet who has studied the various stories of heroic witness for Christ even in a place like Dachau.

Now, safely back in our room, with a beautiful nighttime view of downtown and the river, we prepare for the last full day of this historic Congress.  By Thursday, soon after noon, this incredible experience will be over.  But for now, we prepare for Wednesday, and once again, I can't wait!!