Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Reading Log

In some of my spare time here in Kentucky, I have been able to read for pleasure for the first time in several years. The books I have read are as follows (I list them here because I highly recommend each and every one to all of you):

The Latin Mass Explained, Fr. Moorman

Living and Loving the Mass, Fr. Thomas Kocik

The Sacrament of Charity, Pope Benedict XVI

The Spirit of the Liturgy, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI)

The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis

The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis

The Man Who Was Thursday, G.K. Chesterton

The Habit: A History of the Clothing of Roman Catholic Nuns, Elizabeth Kuhns

The Essential Pope Benedict: His Central Writings and Teachings, John F. Thornton and Susan B. Varenne (Ed.)

I particularly recommend The Spirit of the Liturgy, one of the most stunning books I have ever had occassion to read, and an absolute must for anyone serious about their Catholic faith.

Sister Kathleen

I want to share a little more with you all about Sister Kathleen. Sister grew up in Ireland, the youngest of 16 siblings, but has been working in Glenmary's missions in the rural south for 50 years this summer. Understandably, her Irish brogue has been impacted by all of these years in the south. Sister has a few favorite sayings, which she can apply to almost any situation. These are: "There's a limit," "Oh! That's not right," "Okay. Okay," and "God love ya!" She has an astonishing amount of energy and is often running off to visit with somebody or pursue some new idea she has thought of.

Sister also loves to play cards. Once, while playing cards with the rest of the Sisters at their motherhouse in Owensboro, the other Sisters noticed Sister Kathleen whispering into her cards. She was beating them all pretty badly, and they began to get suspicious. "What are you saying?" one Sister asked her. She didn't respond, but soon she was speaking loudly enough for the rest to hear. "Jesus, if you ever played cards, give me a joker now, so help me God!" Again and again, Sister drew jokers!

Sister bakes excellent pies and breads, and never lets anything go to waste. Like a typical nun, she lists her interests on the Glenmary site as: "baking, sewing, card games and especially listening to Irish music and refinishing furniture," but she is a little ball of fire, truly anything but a typical nun!

KY to NC to DC to VA to TN

Yes, the title of the post is really all of places I have been in the past week (though VA should really appear at least once more than it does). Asheville, NC was, as always, quite an experience. For those of you who have never been to Asheville, it is a beautiful little city nestled into the Blue Ridge mountains and populated mostly by hippies, punks and vegetarians with a smattering of southern baptists. It is the most vegetarian friendly city in the country and is every bit as interesting as it sounds. From Asheville I drove to DC, a seven hour drive that, due to many calamities on the highway took over ten and a half hours. Once in DC, I spent time with friends and attended a truly beautiful wedding. Next, my adventures took me to Morgan County, TN, and it is the recounting of this trip that will consume the bulk of my email. Though I had to drive through about three hours of solid hail to get there, my trip to TN was entirely worth it.

Sunbright, TN is the small town of 600 in which I spent just over eight weeks last summer while working for Appalachia Service Project. This summer, I was determined to return to Sunbright and visit some of the families whom we had worked for last summer. I started out my day searching for the woman I had grown closest to, R**a, but found that the flea market she had worked at was closed. While wending my way back towards her house to see if she was at home, I stopped by the house of D**a, another woman we had worked for. This was, perhaps, a little rash of me. Though I dearly wanted to visit D**a, I had entirely forgotten her ardour for sharing bad news and complaining. I left D**a's house an hour and half later thoroughly depressed about the state of the world. D**a herself had cancer and had lost 80 pounds since I had last seen her. Her family was still driving her up the wall, including a nephew and his wife whom we had also worked for. This nephew and his wife, were still in and out of jail, on drugs, and making their children's lives very difficult to say the least. Another family we had worked for, she shared with me, had torn apart their trailer and removed the wiring to sell for drugs. This electrical wiring, l would like to note, was very near to my heart as its installation was the cause of my bleached and damaged hair (too long a story to recount for those who have not yet heard it). The mother of the girls who had torn apart their trailer had been burgled for her pain medication and raped. Thankfully, Della ran out of bad news and I was able to escape comforted at least by the knowledge that she had reuinited with her first ex-husband after finalizing her divorce with the second and that he was supporting her in her battle with cancer.

I made my way over to R**a's house, surprised by how well I was able to navigate all the twisting and unmarked mountain roads without getting lost. When I arrived, however, I saw that her pick-up truck was not outside, but her husband was standing in the doorway. All year long I have worried about R**a, her husband and their grandson. Though a volunteer and myself had written several letters, we had heard nothing, and I feared the worst. R**a had asked ASP to come work on her home in order to make it safer for their three-year old grandson, who lived with them two weeks out of every month. They hoped to get full custody of him to remove him from the dangerous situation he was in with his mother and her boyfriend, both of whom were on drugs and often left him with other friends. The boyfriend often physically and verbally abused the child leaving marks on his body and teaching him to use foul and hateful language at such a young age. I approached the door of the house slowly and greeted R**a's husband, who, to my amazement, began chatting with me comfortably. I spoke with him for nearly half an hour, which was a miracle to me. I had heard him say maybe ten words in the eight weeks I knew him. He had always been depressed and nearly silent, but he stood now in front of me as talkative as anything. I quickly learned that everything on their farm had been going great. They had finally gained full custody of their grandson just a few weeks prior, after months of his mother's absence. She had arrived in court high on drugs and had been arrested on the spot. Hysterical, she told the judge that R**a's home was unfit for a child: they had too many animals, lacked electricity and running water and their floors were falling in. A social worker was sent that day to inspect the home and found, luckily, that all these problems had been repaired and, far from having an unhealthy number of animals, the farm was an excellent environment for a young boy to learn how to responsibly care for livestock. After the judge made his final decision, the child went in to thank him for what he had done. This child, you must understand, is one of the most perfect looking children I have ever seen, just like one of the cherubs out of Victorian cards and scrapbooks. His curly blonde hair and wide blue eyes stand in solid defiance against the pain he has experienced in just a few short years. I left R**a's house still missing her, but with a renewed faith in ASP's mission and, truly, in God. God, you see, had broght Rhonda and I together most unexpectedly in a gas station, and as I and the rest of my staff had been a beacon of hope for her, she had been a solid support for me throughout a summer during which many situations seemed almost hopeless. I was finally able to track fown Rhonda later in the evening and visit with her for a couple of hours.

After leaving R**a's, I went to see yet another woman we had worked for, C****. C**** remained relatively unchanged. Her hair was a little longer, and her pets had multiplied, but she was otherwise the same colorful and outgoing woman as she was when we first met her. She now owns 14 dogs (four Saint Bernards - please let me know if you are interested in a free pure-bred St. Bernard puppy - and ten deer-legged chihauhas), three horses, four rabbits and one fish. This is 11 more pets than she had last summer. By next year, she will have more pets than Paris Hilton (this is something like 40 or 50, I believe).

From TN, I drove back to the Sisters, and, for once, had a lovely drive. I will remain here for a couple weeks, and then go to help ASP out in finishing some of their projects. Then, I will return to Asheville and on the 15th (if not before) return to DC just in time to move into my Village A apartment and begin meetings for Georgetown clubs.

July 8

The week before last, we had a group of 30 volunteers who came to us from Chickentown, PA (I kid not). The group was really lovely and worked very hard for four days. They were able to help out five different families in total, two of whom live next door to the sisters. They did everything from patching a roof, to painting, to cleaning and weeding gardens, fixing a fence and just spending time with the people they were serving. Unfortunately, one of the men whose home they helped to tidy up (he has only one leg and so is in a wheelchair and cannot clean up well himself), fell out of bed just last week and had his house robbed while in the hospital and so much of the volunteers' work was undone. In the evenings, we would eat with the volunteers and I was put in charge of evening programming for them, which included poverty awareness activities and prayerful reflection on their week. On Tuesday of that week we had Mass as usual, and something possessed me to help out by singing. For those of you who have attended Mass with me, you will understand why this is unusual. Luckily Aaron, the seminarian who has been living at the rectory with Father Jerry for the past year, had chosen all songs with which I was very familiar, and the result was, I think, not a complete disaster.

Also during the week while the volunteers were here, I was able to volunteer with the local 4-H club at the "Livestock Club." This meant that I got to help wash and shear a lamb, a very new experience for me. We also were able to spend a lot of time with a woman who was visiting for that week and also last week from Cincinnati with her son. A friend of one of our parishioners (who was on vacation with her family), the woman is in a very abusive relationship and is trying to find the courage to move down to Kentucky. We were also able to foster a friendship between two boys whose house the volunteers were working on and the woman's son. In doing so, I found myself sprayed many times with water guns, being thrown into a pool and riding through the mountain on the back of a four-wheeler driven by a thirteen year old. All terrifying experiences.

Since the volunteers left, we have been able to focus on our Bible/Catechism class for the three young Catholic boys nearby. Each class, the boys get more attentive. We also had the opportunity to visit Omer, a 94 year old man who was born in the house (built by his grandfather!) that he lives in today. Omer's memory is excellent and he is full of stories about his life in Menifee county.

We of course also celebrated the fourth of July. There was a music concert and fireworks just down the street, which Sr. Kathy and I attended with Cory, Cody (two of the boys from the class), and their mother Barb. I had attempted to purchase a coupel of sparklers, but found it impossible to buy less than twelve boxes! Since I had so many, I was able to hand them out to many of the children at the celebration, who lit them off all at once and created huge clouds of smoke because of the rainy weather. While lying in the grass watching the fireworks display with Cody, he turned to me and said, "Hey Caity? Do you know that you are my sister in Christ?" This was a nice moment, since Cody can sometimes be a bit wild. It is nice to know that at least some of the religious teaching he is getting (at Church, in our class, and also from the Bible Camp he had been at for a few days) is sinking in.

Finally, last Sunday Aaron (the seminarian) and I drove to Lexington to attend the Traditional Latin Mass. Afterwards, Aaron said, "Well, I understand why they had to put the fear of Hell into people because otherwise there is no way they would ever stay in Church!" Nevertheless, he said he learned a lot, and it was good for both of us to spend some time in the company of somebody else our own age.

On Thursday, my father will be driving through on his way to Missouri and will come visit us, and on Friday Steven will come to visit for a few days. Next week, I will go to Asheville NC and then return to DC for a few days before heading down to visit the families I served last summer in Morgan County.

Apologies

Yet again, I must apologize for not updating this thing! I will post my update emails and then try to think of something creative...

Sunday, June 22, 2008

The Breaks

I apologize for my delinquency with this blog! This past weekend, I went camping with 100 or so Appalachia Service Project staffers at the Breaks Interstate Park ("Grand Canyon of the East") in Dickenson County, VA. The drive over was stunning and it was wonderful to see so many friends from last summer. Though this summer is absolutely what I need at this point in my life, I think I will be ready to go back to ASP staff, or perhaps ASP staff liason, next summer.

One of the best parts about the Breaks is the rope swing. Although I did not get to go swimming last year, I experienced this fantastic rope swing two years ago, as a volunteer in Dickinson County, VA. To get to the rope swing, you have to swim about 1/4 of a mile down the river. Then, you will come to a deep pool beneath a railroad trestle. The trestle is maybe 100 or 200 feet above the water, and a rope hangs down from it. You climb up a cliff at the side of the pool and when somebody throws the rope to you from the water, you grab onto it, swing out and jump! Although I swam this year, and jumped off the cliff a couple of times, the rope kept getting tangled and I didn't get a chance to jump off it. More incentive to be there next year, I guess!

One of the more interesting things I saw on my way was a Sacred Heart statue outside of an Old Free Will Baptist Church. Who would have thought?

P.S. The past two post titles are taken from signs nearby. Signs about the second coming/ quoting scripture are EVERYWHERE.

God's fire-escape plan: repentance!

Well, I have now been with the sisters for exactly one week. I have gotten to know several of the parishioners pretty well over the past week, including two of the cutest little all-American boys you will ever see. **** and **** are 5 and 7 respectively. **** in particular is darling; he has blonde hair, bright blue eyes and freckles and is missing his two front teeth. His Kentucky accent is made even cuter by his inability to pronounce "l"s (he calls me Caity to avoid saying "Caitwin").

In an attempt keep this email brief, I will just tell you all about a couple of the highlights of the week and about the new ideas that Sister Kathy and I have come up with. If you don't plan on reading this whole email, skip to ideas part, please!

We have spent a lot of time with the Mexican immigrant family that I mentioned in my last email. On Wednesday evening we had a little barbecue to celebrate the straight As that little **** (age 8) got in school this year. His mother does not speak English well, and so I hope to be able to improve my Spanish a bit as the summer goes on. His little brother, *****, is just 2, but watches a lot of rasslin' (wrestling) and so he loves to make an angry face and show off his muscles! Since the mother cannot get a driver's license, we are their only source of transportation while her husband is away (he drives trucks for a living, and is sometimes gone for weeks at a time, as he is now). Today, we took **** fishing, which is something I don't think I have ever done.

On Tuesday night I got to experience Mass in the little chapel next to the Sisters' house. The small chapel was jam-packed (mind you, this means about 12 people). Though the chapel and the Mass there are very simple, the joy and sense of community was palpable, though *****'s attempts to wash his hands in the holy water caused a little bit of a distraction!

Finally, I have been spending a portion of my time planning a twice-weekly catechism class for the few Catholic kids who live nearby. With the help of a number of coloring books and work books (Coloring the Rosary, Joy Joy the Mass!, etc.), a first-grade catechism workbook and a Bible study book for pre-schoolers, I have been making lesson plans and planning pertinent activities and art projects for each of the ten days we will hold class. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send them to me! None of us really know what we are doing!

Sister and I also had a couple new ideas this week about ways to minister to children. For one thing, we are starting a sports fund for local kids. We plan to raise money to offer scholarships for kids to join sports teams and purchase uniforms. In addition, we are going to make a concerted effort to collect donated uniform pants and shorts, as well as cleats, shin guards and other sports equipment.

We are also starting a "Flat D***y" doll for a little boy named D***y. D***y, who prefers to be called "JJ Jetplane," is five years old and suffers from a rare form of cancer. Please pray for a miracle for him, as the doctors have given up on treatment. The "doll" will be sent via mail to different people, who will each take photos with the doll, which D***y colored himself, and send them back to him. Perhaps some of you will receive the doll!

I plan on going camping with friends who are working for Appalachia Service Project this weekend at the Breaks interstate park a couple hours away, and look forward to hosting 30 volunteers from Pennsylvania next week beginning Monday!