A Deo et Rege

Today is Palm Sunday, the day when we commemorate the entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem as King. Palm Sunday is an important contrast to the events of the rest of Holy Week, especially Good Friday. It’s amazing how human nature can welcome a man with "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" and then only a few days  later demand his blood with loud shouts of "crucify him."

We cannot merely pass this event off as something that happened nearly 2000 years ago and the liturgical reading of the Passion on Palm Sunday reminds us of that. The community reads about Jesus being welcomed as king with palm branches and then each individual, playing the role of the crowd during the trial of Jesus, demands: "crucify him." Our sinfulness caused the death of our Lord and the Palm Sunday liturgy helps us recall that vividly. Sadly all of us also welcome Jesus as Lord daily in our personal lives only to deny him at a later point through our sinfulness. All I can think of as I go through Palm Sunday and Holy Week is: Lord forgive us for what we have done to you!

Today I was off from work so Carmel and I decided to spend the day together. We decided to go east a few miles and visit an Amish area. We had lunch at an amazing Amish restaurant. We ate "family style" and had some great roast beef, stuffing, mashed potatoes and some heavenly pumpkin pie! Afterward, we went to Wal-Mart and bought The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which we plan to watch tonight.

Next, we drove a few miles and visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch in Burton, Ohio. This shrine is in the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma. We first walked around the grounds themselves and they were beautiful. This shrine is totally

rural (and is situated among the Amish; we saw buggies pass on the road by the shrine) and extremely peaceful. There were numerous statues, icons, and the occasional mosaics, all in a gorgeous Northeastern Ohio country setting. There is an outdoor chapel where they have Divine Liturgy services on Sundays starting in May.

Next, we went to the shrine chapel. Fortunately, the priest had a day off from his part-time job and let us in. We had a wonderful conversation with him in the chapel and also prayed. The chapel itself was small, but extremely beautiful and inspiring. It could be a lesson in simple, dignified beauty to counteract some of the ugliness in modern Roman Catholic architecture.

Finally, we went across the street to the convent (?) where we visited the gift shop. The sister living there was very friendly and we came away with some great books. We were amazed at the hospitality of those at the shrine as well as the refreshing informal friendliness. Although Burton, Ohio is out of the way, if you happen to make it in the general area, it’s well worth visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariapoch.

Photos by Jonathan Bennett

Ok, this isn’t about the Rodney Dangerfield movie entitled Back to School, although admittedly I did watch that movie on Tuesday night. It did get me thinking about how much I missed the university. Granted there are many things about the academy I don’t miss: hyper PC excess, the backstabbing, the ruthless competitiveness. But, there are more things I do miss: the learning, the discussion, and the intangibles. When I say the intangibles, I mean the general environment. It’s hard to explain, but living and going to school at a college or university has a different "feel" to it than the rest of the world that would be hard to replicate. I miss that.

Of course, I’m also very happy in my job. So, I think the answer is to go back to school part time for some post-Masters work. And my employer likes this idea too. So, that’s good. I’m thinking of doing online courses or perhaps studying at a local university. I am excited about the thought. Who would’ve thought a Rodney Dangerfield movie could cause some serious internal reflection?

Interestingly David also posts on going back to school

On Sunday Carmel, David, Jennifer,and I went to the National Shrine
and Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. Since this is my

sixth visit, there isn’t much more I can write that is original! For those who want the whole story (and see other shrines I’ve visited), check out my Catholic, Shrines category.

As always we started off with some Speedway coffee and a few snacks. It seems this has become a personal custom! We also came to Our Lady with intentions for our pilgrimage. Part of my intention related to healing for my surgery. I’m happy to report that I have been healing naturally and if things go well I won’t need a second surgery. I attribute this to God and the prayers of Our Lady. And part of my pilgrimage intention was to receive full healing and not have to return to the hospital.

As we always do on a Sunday at the Shrine, we attended the devotions. More about this can be found in my previous posts, but let me say I highly recommend it. I was prayed over by Fr. John Raphael with a relic of the True Cross. It was an amazing experience and I have no doubt that God will use it for both spiritual and physical healing.

I always visit the gift shop and this time found a wonderful item that is new to the Shrine. It’s a shrine rosary with images of Our Lady of Consolation and roses on the beads, an image of OLC and Lourdes water on the medal area, and as an added bonus it glows in the dark! Items like this are a fringe benefit of being Catholic!

Carmel has also posted on our visit to the Shrine

Photos by Jonathan Bennett

I know I haven’t blogged in awhile, but with Carmel in the USA, I have been spending, outside of work, most of my time with her! However, I wanted to give a few updates:

1) I will be blogging more this week!

2) We have been out to eat a couple times at some wonderful restaurants. See Carmel’s blog for more info

3) We also have done some outdoor running and hiking which after this long winter is such a blessing for me!!

4) We’ve been watching some good 80s (or similar) movies including Pretty in Pink, Trading Places, and the Wedding Singer

4) Today we’re traveling to the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, OH. Photos and story will certainly follow.

Have a blessed Lent!