I hope you had a great weekend; I did, but I bet for many different reasons than perhaps you did. In the idyllic small town I live and work in the buzz was the annual Fall Fest which brings locals and visitors to the park in the middle of town. Of course, middle of town means about a block from our beloved and beautiful St. Jane de Chantal Church. And we are just as busy as the comings and goings of our surroundings. On Friday we have our 1st Friday all-day Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction at 6 pm. I normally preside at Benediction and share a homily/reflection focused on the Blessed Sacrament. Being November, I was able to reflect on the unique connection of the Eucharist and those souls in Purgatory. Thankfully, Benediction went on without any interference from all the frivolity going on down the street. We also fared well for our rehearsal later in the evening for our Saturday afternoon wedding. Now this will take a little more effort for keeping festival crowds away from the wedding logistics, mostly parking.
But lo and behold, come Saturday, after 45+ days of no rain, rain came and kept coming. Now the rain was necessary and beneficial, but nobody wants rain to fall on their special event, be it a wedding or an outdoor festival. So right on time, the rain ended before the closing acts at the park and the wedding of Wesley and Angela. Our parking dilemma was solved by the much-appreciated volunteer efforts of local Knights of Columbus and help from the local town government. The wedding was beautiful. I really do love witnessing a wedding and preaching for the bride & groom. As is always the case, it was both delightful and spiritually fulfilling to be there. We pray for our newly married couple wishing them a lifetime of happiness.
So, what do you do on a Saturday evening in November after a beautiful wedding. You settle in to watch the LSU/Alabama football game from Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. Little did I know as I settled in what I was about to watch. Alabama usually wins, is almost always the favorite and almost always much higher ranked than LSU. The game was awesome from the beginning, my LSU Tigers playing great and leading much of the game. When Alabama took a late lead then later tied the game after a brief LSU lead, you had to sigh, and wonder would this be another disappointing repeat. After all, we go into overtime and Alabama scores first. But then LSU scores on their first snap of OT and to the shock of all they decide to go for two. One way or the other, this game was about to be over, one way or the other. And with great joy and relief I watched the 2-point conversion work and yes, LSU beats Alabama. Wow! What a game. And it came on the same night we "fall back" and gain an extra hour of sleep; I sure needed that too.
I was assigned the early mass on Sunday; 8 am and I was ready. Mass was, as usual, awesome and I headed to Slidell, with Wendy, to pick up grandkid Brennan for a two-day visit. She brings lots of joy and excitement to our house. Her activities range from playing dolls, doing crafts to riding her little 4-wheeler. I snuck away for a while to attend my church parish picnic which was very nice and well attended. By 5 pm the sun was now setting, and a great weekend was over. Giving thanks to God for great times and great memories made from days such as these.
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