Back from "Vacation"

Many of you may have wondered if I would ever post another note again, after a long hiatus this summer. Really, I had intended to write at least a couple of times over the summer, but ... well ... I guess the time just slipped away from me.

It was a good summer. I learned a lot about parish life, and am more excited than ever to embark on the mission of parrochial ministry. And that embarcation is getting closer and closer.

So I'm back in Rome now, after a close-to-24-hour trip. Well, I should say I made it to Rome in about 19 or 20 hours, but complications caused me to spend a bit more time at the airport. In other words, my baggage didn't make it to Rome. It got held up in London. However, I spent an hour waiting for the bags to come out on the carousel, and when they didn't I spent another hour waiting in line to file my claim. Then it took another hour to get from the airport to the seminary. Now it's Sunday afternoon and I'm expecting the bags to show up here any minute. Luckily I had enough "supplies" already in my room to be able to manage without much trouble.

This week we're starting a workshop on Marriage Counseling. Next week the workshop will concern liturgical presiding and the like. The following week we'll be on retreat, and the week after that is ordination week! Just like that.

So I'm tying up loose ends in preparation for all my guests coming in October and trying to get ready for ordination. I'm pretty much ready, but it will be good to have that week-long silent retreat.

That's it for now. Perhaps I'll check in later to let you know how the Marriage workshop is going. Stay tuned.