All I did was pray

As I wrap up the week, I reflect upon the many blessings I've received. Most of my week was spent in prayer in some way.

This was Catholic Schools Week and we introduced some prayers into the community that have been largely absent because we are not a parish and the church is the primary location where prayers are learned. This week, we provided Eucharistic Adoration so students and the adult staff could have private, silent prayer. We also added morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours to teach the students antiphonal prayer followed by Adoration.

This morning, I blessed hundreds of throats. St. Blaise Day is celebrated on February 3rd, but it won't be celebrated on Sunday because the Lord's Day takes precedence over the saints. We anticipated the day and blessed the throats during a time in which many people are sick and need relief. We even blessed the children in the Eagle's Nest, the daycare for the teachers and staff. The kids were very receptive to the blessing.

We then had prayer with the Retired Faculty and Staff followed by meaningful conversation. We talked about issues in the church and issues about aging, and then we prayed for one another. I am privileged to hold their stories.

Then I sped over to the SoWa studios for our artist meeting. We spend time planning for the year and enrolling help with our association, and then we had a social. I brought some maple bacon French Toast bake that I made and it was fun to watch it get scoffed down. People were amazed with the fragrance and the taste  of it. It was gone very quickly and bellies were filled up contentedly.

I was introduced as one of the new artists and I won them over with my baking. Being a priest is breaking into new boundaries in this world and it seems like priesthood and art is quite a nice intersection. Customers pass through SoWa and want to talk about their faith or at least establish some connection with a priest. There is a power and potential to this ministry that I don't quite comprehend yet. I'm in the right place at the right time and I'm having the time of my life. I'm meeting the neatest people and my heart is filled with reverence and good cheer. God is leading this process forward. Wow. I have a lot to bring forward in prayer. I have a lot of gratitude to bring forward. All is good. All is very good.