My dear friend is coming to the end of her life. Filled with much physical pain for many years, Kathie often begged God to take her Home. How can I respond to my friend in the face of such pain? I remind Kathie that God is not ready for her yet, as He prepares her Heavenly dwelling place.
Kathie entered hospice care a few days ago. Evidently, God is ready.
Recently, we had the joy of celebrating Mass with newly ordained Fr. Nick Vance. After kissing Dunrovin’s altar, at the start of Mass, Fr. Nick said it felt surreal to be back at Dunrovin, not as a summer program counselor but as a priest. Jerome and I felt joy watching the life journey of this son of our friend. First, Nick was a dark-haired little rascal, then a talented-but-no-so-confident teen on DLITE at Dunrovin, next as an SJV seminarian/deacon, and now as a Catholic priest.
Ten days into priesthood, how can this young, newbie priest have any wisdom to share? Fr. Nick directed his homily to our summer program counselors on their first day of a new season of Summer Leadership Camp. He also spoke to my heart. He spoke of the meaning and purpose of life. He spoke of the times God asks for sacrificial service. I learned that the word enthusiasm is derived from the word entheos, meaning infused with God.
With new understanding, I realized that enthusiasm can fill every part of life
Our omnipresent God is everywhere. We feel God present in extraordinary moments, such as the priestly ordination of 13 young men, the martyrdom of Blessed Brother James Miller, and the always-miraculous birth of a child. God is also present in the ordinary, mundane moments of daily life. On June 1, 2024, Jerome and I celebrated our 25th anniversary of the day we moved to Dunrovin. So long yet so fast the years have flown.
Years filled with extraordinary and ordinary moments.
A recent week in my life at Dunrovin looked like this:
- Monday – returned from an incredible stay on Sanibel Island gifted by a friend and handled ten days of emails; attended a meeting for the Diamond Cruise
- Tuesday –corresponded with DLITE parents; weeded; website updates
- Wednesday – led our Annual Safety meeting (agenda: high and dangerous river levels, burning bans, intruders, Band-Aids, flashlights, and power outages) followed by a staff potluck lunch; took a tour of the Avalon boat for the Diamond Cruise
- Thursday – wrote a blog, newsletters, and prayer email; more DLITE correspondence; sent many thank you letters for the Diamond Cruise
- Friday – purchased summer program supplies; more cruise and DLITE details; visited my friend, Kathie, on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
In addition, this week held moments of awe:
- a chance encounter with a cute little skunk, but he didn’t spray,
- dinner on the deck with our new summer program staff,
- I Am Healing Prayer ministry training in our Upper Room Chapel,
- a power outage,
- planted annual flowers,
- looked at the stars at midnight when restless legs kept me up,
- baby turtles,
- pictures and quotes from our staff about why they like working at Dunrovin,
- a delightful weekday Mass with St. Michael Catholic Church retreat,
- a pretty, yellow moth that I’ve never seen before at Dunrovin.
Kathie would like the yellow moth. She’d also like the skunk. And the baby turtles. And Mass. She’s been a prayer warrior for Dunrovin, on our prayer team for many years. Kathie has taken her pain and turned it into prayers, sometimes begrudgingly but always with sacrificial love. Living with pain takes immense courage. With all her ups and downs, Kathie teaches me the importance of accepting each day as it comes. She reminds me that we belong to the Lord in life and death, in the ordinary and extraordinary.
Let us remember we are in the holy presence of God.
mary.meeds@dunrovin.org | 651-433-2486