Most of us reading this have a measure of faith. You’ll hear no preaching here, but please
know that Patti is a good Catholic and proud of it. She is a regular church attendee at The
Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta and has brought our children up
Catholic, too. Patti was educated in
parochial schools and by my recollection she has never spent an hour in a
classroom, from grammar school through college, when a nun was not in the
building.
Patti has enjoyed accepting the power of her Lord during
this trial. She reads prayers and
devotionals daily and it helps us all.
To Catholics, an important place of worship is the village of Lourdes,
France. There, the Virgin Mary appeared
to a young woman, Bernadette Soubirous, in the mid-nineteenth century. For generations, Catholics have been making
pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to ask the Blessings of
Mary. I hope you will look this
remarkable place up if you are not familiar.
Anyway, our good friends Diane and Ed Festa of Atlanta take
an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes this time of year for personal benefit and to
take petitions to Mother Mary for others who may be sick. This week is special as members of the
Knights of Malta, an ancient and appreciated Catholic service organization send
thousands of petitions by hand to the Blessed Mother’s Shrine. Thanks to Diane and Ed, personal letters and
petitions to Mary from friends and family members have reached the Shrine in
Lourdes. The Festa’s could not go this
year, so their friends the Wessels have taken the letters in the blue ribbon (pictured)
on our behalf. Friends supporting
friends.
In other news, it seems the doctors know what they are
talking about when it comes to partial hair loss and great fatigue. Patti has stayed close to home but her spirit
is undiminished. Great cards and calls
come in every day. A special handmade card
(also pictured) from 4th and 5th grade students of Jane Connolly Leonard of
Augusta arrived yesterday. It is
impressive the effort some friends will make for a gesture to Patti. Our Mary Catherine turns 21 next Saturday and
she will be home for the summer. I, me,
Tom will be looking for refuge from the estrogen. Any offers?
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