It's Sunday, time for church worship with family, friends, fellow believers, once again. Btw, how many of us are always looking forward to Sundays of our lives? I bet, many of us are. I, for one, am always looking forward to Sunday because I consider it a special day---one that is spiritual, I believe. It's a day to nurture our faith, one that involves a special date with our Almighty and Heavenly Father-God. Likewise, it's a special day to celebrate and commemorate our faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. (This is just my personal perspective.) Nurturing our faith, (by receiving Him into our lives, through the Eucharist or the Sacrament of Holy Communion), is by far the most noble act that we, as faith community, can do. It's not easy but we can do it---with others. Nothing is impossible with God, with Jesus, in teamwork...
Well, on this beautiful Sunday morning, my wife Freny and I attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. (I took photos earlier when the church was still filling up. See photos below.) I was informed that it's the only Catholic church here in D-ville. We've attended church worship services there before. That was last year. That time, we were graciously given a brief tour of not only the church but also the Sacred Heart (Catholic) School by Marie Claire? SHS, which is adjacent to the church, is the only Catholic Btw, it's kinda strange, being a guest-visitor in the area but, you know what, I feel at ease there, at home, each time I attend or participate in the Mass with parishioners of different backgrounds, be it educational and/or economic. As a people person and proud to be a Catholic, I always try to be a good Christian, to do what God wills me to do---to live in the present moment well, sharing my God-given talent/s and skills and life experiences trying to "inspire" and make a difference in others' lives.
As you may know, my dear folks and friends, Freny and I have been volunteer Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion in our parish, St. Paul's Catholic Church in downtown (and historical) Portsmouth, for years. Actually, this Sunday today, we're scheduled to do Cup 3 and Cup 4. That is, to distribute or administer the Blood of Christ or the consecrated wine to our fellow parishioners during the Sacrament of Holy Communion. But, since we're having summer getaway in D-ville, we've made arrangement for our assignment to be taken care of. We called one of our fellow EMHC volunteers, asked her a big favor if she could take care of our assignment while we're out of town. Thank God, she said no problem, "I'll take care of it, Chris." We thanked her for being available and gracious enough to cover for us. Before we hung up our phone, she said "enjoy your vacation, guys!" Thanks, Vern!
Well, back to Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart this morning at nine. A visiting clergy was at the altar, along with a seminarian and a young boy as altar server. We didn't expect that its pastor, Fr. Anthony, wasn't there to officiate or celebrate Mass with us today. (We had an opportunity to talk to him before, and even expressed our appreciation for writing frequently a column for The Catholic Virginian.) We learned after Mass that he's on vacation, per Marie Claire who played the church organ today. I firmly believe, he deserves it---to have a summer break/vacation from priestly responsibility, even for a short time, a couple of days or a week or two, maybe.
In his homily, the priest-celebrant spoke about the parable of the Good Samaritan, re-echoing today's Gospel's message of loving our neighbor...Who is my neighbor? Anyone, be it closes to you (your wife, spouse, son, daughter) or someone you just met along the way...in need of assistance or help.
of my "biography." I also mentioned Jo about our city public school system's new initiative or program that requires high school students 50 hours of community service as mandatory requirement for high school graduation. Since I mentioned Jo that I write a blog post on a daily basis, she asked me for my website. But, of course, I was kind enough to let her copy from my smart phone, with emphasis that I do it (my blogging) as a hobby. Excited I was to share my thoughts/imaginings, I gave them a copy of our local newspaper, Suffolk New-Herald, in which my article on Fourth of July was published.From the church, Freny and I went shopping spree (sort of)...at Target and Ross where we bought some house decor and other stuff (a 67" lamp shade, rug, throw pillows, dish folding chairs, metal-wood rack, wall frames) for Tintin's two-bedroom apartment.
Lunch time came. We were debating whether to dine again at San Marcos Mexican Restaurant, like last time, or to another restaurant. In the end, we settled for Subway's foot-long tuna sandwich and sweetened iced tea, and three cookies (chocolate chips, and with macadamia nuts) for dessert. We haven't been to Subway for a while. Besides, we haven't had tuna sandwich for a long time (although we're fish-eaters/lovers).
After lunch, we were supposed to go to another store but as the heat and humidity outside were becoming intense and "unbearable," when it was past 4 p.m., we've decided to go back home to Tintin's apartment where we feel comfy. Thank God for the AC.
Well, this is all for now, my dear folks and friends. Until next time around. Thanks for your time. Take care and have a wonderful day/night, everyone! As always, I pray, "May God bless US and keep US safe from harm always!"-chris a. quilpa, 14 July 2013
P.S.
Check out my photos below...
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