Monday, February 29, 2016

Awaiting Sping



A hush is over everything,
Silent as women waiting for the 
spring.
~~Sara Teasdale~~

As the air begins to warm and we enter the month of March, I am thrilled in the anticipation of Spring.  You want to go out and do some spring cleaning in the garden, rake the leaves from between the daffodils so that their beds are clear.  

It won't be long before the trees are covered in their coats of green and the bird nests are safely hidden out of sight.  Oh my, and it's just around the corner! 

~~^j^~~
Thanks be to God!

Cathy
 I'm here to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!





I think you should take some time to visit Imagin-in-ing.  You're sure to enjoy it!

Friday, February 19, 2016

The Door


I stand at the door
In fear and trepidation
Just wanting to knock

Just wanting to knock
In fear and trepidation
Wanting an answer

So boldly I knock
LovinglyI am embraced
I should never fear

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Cathy

~~~~~~~

I'll be on my annual retreat this weekend at Saint Meinrad Archabbey.  Please keep me in your prayers!
~~~

Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday



Monday, February 15, 2016

Companions on the Journey


I'd like to introduce you to Super Pup and Buddy.  I met Buddy last summer when we were looking at photos of "his" trip to Hungary and Austria in November the previous year with his owner, my sister-in-law, Linda.  What a great idea, I thought.  What if Buddy could accompany us to Italy and then he could share his adventure with others.



Well, pretty soon, after we continued our travels to Yellowstone, I realized I'd have to be sending Buddy home and it would be so hard to part with him.  We met Old Faithful and I fell in love with him.  What better companion for Buddy than this delightful grizzly bear.  He had such a wonderful personality and he'd be a great protector for Buddy.  Well much to my chagrin, that just wasn't going to work.  There just wouldn't be enough room for this bulky friend of ours.  

So, to my delight, I was introduced to Super Pup.  Yes, this handsome fellow said he'd be glad to accompany Buddy to Italy and watch out for him.


So it was that Super Pup and Buddy journeyed with us to Italy.  They were together through thick and thin.  Whether they were confined to a purse or backpack.  They never complained.










They would chat about the days adventures or sit quietly just reflecting on the day.

  

They listened intently to the tour guide as we walked the streets of Italy's ancient towns.  The view of Florence was captivating.  On the steps of the Duomo Church in Amalfi they waited for their gelato while we took photos.  They were amazed by the ruins of Rome and awestruck by the Coliseum.  


In November Super Pup and Buddy parted ways when we traveled to New Mexico to attend a memorial for a cousin of the family.  They traveled through an ice storm and into the night, these best of friends.  And so it was that Super Pup returned home alone, resting in the back pack to which he had become so accustomed.

Smile, though!  There is good news.  I learned yesterday that Super Pup's cousin Vagabond (Vaga) will be arriving on Wednesday.  He's agreed that he and Super Pup should be traveling companions and he'd accompany him to France in March.  Super Pup is looking forward to his arrival.


I just couldn't leave today with our sharing another photo from our Italian adventure.  This is a panorama of the Bay of Naples with Mount Vesuvius in the background.


~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Cathy


 I'm here to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!




Please visit Judith at Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday and share in the beauty offered there.

Mosaic Monday


I think you should take some time to visit Imagin-in-ing.  You're sure to enjoy it!

Friday, February 12, 2016




At the center of the entrance cloister at Monte Cassino stands this beautiful bronze statue by the sculptor A. Selva. The work is based on the description given by St. Gregory the Great, who wrote the biography of St. Benedict's life. He is standing, supported by monks after having received the Holy Communion. This statue was a gift from the German Chancelor K. Adenauer in 1952.

God's mercy and love
Lifts us out of the abyss
God's gift to us all

God's gift to us all
Everlasting joy and peace
The gift to all saints

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Cathy


Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday

Monday, February 08, 2016

A Weekend Pilgrimage


God's glory appears in Bardstown, Kentucky

We had a glorious weekend in Kentucky.  Sister Therese, a Sister of Charity of Nazareth, told us that this area is called the Promised Land of Kentucky.  


The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani 

The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a monastery part of the Order of the Cistercians of the Strict Order, also known as, the Trappists.  Founded in December, 1848 it was raised to Abbey in 1851.  Gethsemani is considered the mother house of all Trappists and Trappistine monasteries in the United States.  It is the oldest monastery in the United States still in operation.  It was home to Thomas Merton from 1941 until his death in 1968.

 Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral
 Bardstown Kentucky 

The cornerstone of Saint Joseph by Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget in 1816.  In 1775, Catholic settlers, mostly of English and Irish descent began emigrating chiefly from Maryland to Kentucky, an outpost of the crown colony of Virginia.  The first missionaries came around 1787.  In 1808 the four new Catholic diocese created at the request of Bishop Carroll of Baltimore, included Bardstown along with New York and Philadelphia.  The new diocese of Bardsowon covered almost the entire Northwest Territory, south to New Orleans and as far north as Detroit.  

The Cathedral was consecrated in 1819.  When the Episcopal See was moved forty miles away to the fast growing city of Louisville in 1841, Saint Joseph's because a parish church, hence the title "proto-cathedral."  In 1995 Bardstown was named a Titular see by the Vatican for ints contributions to the Catholic Church heritage in America.


Sisters of Charity of Nazareth

The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth were founded in 1812.  Mother Catherine Spaulding, along with Bishop John Baptist David, are honored together and remembered as co-founders of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth.  

The New community followed the rule of Saint Vincent de Paul and their dwelling was named Nazareth.  They serve in 20 states in the United States, in India, Nepal, Botswana, and Belize.

~~~

It was a grand weekend all round.  The weather was good and we even toured Makers Mark distillery.  There are many on what's know as the Bourbon Trail.  But, that is for another day.  And you can read much more about these grand places by going to their webpages. 

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!

Cathy


I'm here to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!




Please visit Judith at Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday and share in the beauty offered there.

Mosaic Monday


I think you should take some time to visit Imagin-in-ing.  You're sure to enjoy it!

Thursday, February 04, 2016

Sunset Over the Bay of Naples

Sunset on the Bay of Naples
~~~

 Sun rises and sets
It sinks lower and lower
And disappearing

Hope in the sunset
In all its wonder and awe
Tomorrow will come

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Cathy

It's new for me, but I have been invited to join Jutta at Natur-Donnerstag on Thursdays. Visit and Enjoy!


Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 



Finally, I am joining A Soulful Life for Soulfood Friday

Monday, February 01, 2016

Bay of Salerno


Gulf of Salerno

My goodness how time flies. I have been away for some time now and hope I'll be able to post more often. Being retired I've had little time to sit and play at the computer. I often ask myself how I managed to post daily when I was working. This photo was taken in November, 2015 on our way to Amalfi, Italy. What a joy that journey was! Perhaps there will be more to come!


I'm here to play and invite you to join Mersad at Through My Lens.  Should be fun!

~~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God

Cathy
~~~