I share this machine with two teenagers and a cat, so that could explain why I haven't been doing a lot of writing lately. Fortunately, Pepi just stays put where it's warm atop the monitor, or I'd still be waiting. Now that I have the time though, thought I'd talk about what I did last weekend.

Much of what I do on weekends I hear about first on WaukeshaNOW, and last week was no exception. I find that the site's community events description is a little more in depth and easier to access than the alternative.

I went to the UWW play God Willing: A Twology not because I'd heard it was good or even because I'd heard of it before. I checked it out because it promised to be different. Two avante-garde plays in one with seating on the stage for the audience. I won't try to describe it because I can't. I can't relate it to anything I've seen before. It was entertaining, serious and thought-provoking. It was intimate and dark, quiet and loud. I guess you could say it was a good play for the university because they tried something outside "normal" and it was a good experiment. 

Saturday morning I joined my confirmation group for a service project at Jeremy House, a homeless shelter for individuals with mental issues on Moreland Blvd. We prepared breakfast for the guests and learned more about the facility. It was a worthwhile experience for all of us, and fun too.

After mass last Sunday I interviewed candidates for confirmation to see if they had any thoughts, good or bad, on the whole process and to make sure they grew spiritually in this last year of preparation. Tomorrow is confirmation rehearsal.

Later Sunday I attended Waukesha Choral Union's production of Handel's Messiah while not realizing what I came to see and hear. I penciled the Carroll College event on my calendar because WaukeshaNOW made it sound good and, the best part, it was free. I arrived after the last of the programs had been handed out and, because I've never been to "Messiah" before, didn't recognize it. Bumping into a friend at intermission, I mentioned how religious all the pieces were. "Well, it is Messiah. The whole concert is related to the bible, starting with the Old Testament and ending with the New." She showed me the program and every aria, recitation and chorus was straight from a bible verse or psalm. Up to this point the one thing I knew about "Messiah" was the Hallelujah Chorus. Two and a half hours after the start of this concert I was much better informed. It's a monumental production with orchestra, pipe organ, soloists with community members joining the chorus. The concert was fully funded by donations from individuals and businesses. It was director Gregory Carpenter's last production of Messiah. His last production with the Choral Union will be in celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday: Mozart's Requiem at St. Joe's Church in Waukesha, May 4th, with orchestra and soloist. I'm going to pencil this one in too, and hope I don't forget why.  

By now Mrs. Lee is wondering if I'm seeing someone because of being gone so much last weekend. (The family is always invited, but my tastes often differ from theirs.) I later attended Vespers, or evening prayer, at St. William. It's something I've not done before and my family wouldn't have enjoyed either. It was an interesting mix of hymns, readings, reflection and incense. All the prayer without the hassle.

After Vespers I joined 80 to 90 others from my parish to learn about Judaism and Jewish traditions in a Seder meal, something I've wanted to try but never had the chance. I felt this Lent was a good time to understand the roots of my own faith and this was a wonderful way to do it. The nicest Jewish couple, Sherry and David, led us on this trip to the past. Seder, the Passover meal, is full of lessons and history, details, ancestors, special diet and ways of preparation. I'd have to say everything had meaning and relevance and the meal was history come to life. Everything was performed in order, involved the oldest to the youngest, was entertaining and lasted about 2-1/2 hours. The education we received and meeting Sherry and David was wonderful. This meal was far more involved than any other meal I've shared, and I would happily do it again.  

The theme of the weekend seemed to lean toward religion. Not a bad thing with Holy Week beginning tomorrow.

There's always something happening at St. William's, my home parish at 440 N. Moreland. Last weekend was the rummage sale. Today we hosted the St. Matthias meal for the needy and tomorrow is blessing of animals in observance of the Feast Day of St. Francis. This Sat. at 6:00 p.m. is wine and cheese and Sunday is a pancake breakfast from 7:30 to noon -- both in the Parish Hall, and both a fundraiser for Cooperating Congregations of Waukesha County's new kitchen.

I'll be helping out in the kitchen Sunday for a couple hours, but may have to miss linking with fellow parishioners for the Life Chain on Bluemound between 2:00 and 3:00.

The following Sunday, the fourteenth, should be interesting. J. Christ will be in the Parish Hall and the Packers will be in the gym! Jennifer Christ will be talking about the rosary at 10:00 a.m. and the Packer game will be shown in the gym at noon. Tickets for the game are only $5.00 at the door and include a brat or hot dog, chips, soda, etc. There's a movie and sitter for the kiddies and raffle for the big people. The game is a Home and School fundraiser for Waukesha Catholic. Meeting J. Christ is free. As it should be.

 

 

I gave away a ring; a finger rosary actually. I was given the ring 21 years ago by my sponsor on the occasion of my adult confirmation. A few years ago, when I sponsored a teen in his confirmation, I gave the ring to him. I asked if he could keep it going by giving it to someone if he's a sponsor. So there's no telling where the ring, given to me by Pat and Maria, will end up.

Besides doing whatever we think we should to keep a candidate on the right path, there is usually not a lot for a sponsor to do after confirmation. This could explain why I've only seen my candidate once since confirmation, at the funeral of his mom. If I felt he was the kind of kid that needed more than just my prayers, I would've done a better job of keeping in touch.

I chose to ask Pat and Maria to sponsor my confirmation even though I didn't know them. I saw their dedication to God and took that as enough of a sign. Getting their baby, Angela, ready and making it to 7:00 mass every day told me they knew something more about worship than I did.

As busy as I was working two jobs, it should be no surprise that I lost touch with my sponsors. I got married and had kids. Pat and Maria had another child. Then another. Another and another. Eight more children after Angela. I talked to them once by phone after reading Laurel Walker's 2002 column on the family but haven't seen them in 21 years. Until today.

Add reunions to the many benefits of quarterly St. Vincent De Paul breakfast meetings. I always enjoy seeing new prayer spaces and meeting new priests among the 26 parishes in Waukesha County the meetings rotate among. I knew Pat and Maria used to attend St. Luke's, today's destination, and found they still do. I was thrilled to see them and their beautiful children - of the eight girls and one boy they have, all but three girls were with them at the mass.

I was so thrilled to see them and meet the kids after all the years that I invited myself to their home, using the gift of an accordian as an excuse. I remembered Laurel mentioning their musical giftedness. I knew I had this instrument I'll never play taking up space in the basement, so I offered it to them.

I really wanted to take my whole family but only my oldest child complied. Their home, hidden in the woods, is beautiful. It's large and tidy and the girls were doing their homework on the kitchen table. The large accordian, almost as big as the youngest child, was passed around and Pat played a recognizable tune. We had a good visit.

Even though we haven't seen one another, Pat and Maria taught me a lot about family, faith and perseverance in the face of adversity. As if holding together a family of 11 wasn't enough, Maria suffered brain damage following the birth of her last child. She had gone into cardiac arrest after doctors couldn't locate the source of internal bleeding. When I last saw her she was a new mom breast-feeding a dependent baby Angela. Today she is a still a wonderful mom, but now is more dependent on her children. All nine of them.

I learned valuable lessons about family and faith from Pat and Maria which I hope to pass along to the next generation. This year I was asked to be a catechist for teens preparing for confirmation, and I gladly accepted. I'll be there to ask and answer questions, and I know they'll have lots of questions. There's 150 of them the kids have to answer before confirmation next spring! I might be able to help.