Merry 2018 Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
We had a lovely celebration here today. And the weather cooperated. On Christmas Eve the high was 78! And on Christmas day the high only reached 84. For a church that is not air-conditioned, in the midst of a humid start of summer in Australia, these were great temperatures. And the wet factor was pretty low as well, which turned out excellent for everyone. Especially the pastor celebrating Mass under many layers of vestments! These first images (1-5) are of my Christmas card drawing entitled: Jesus, Joseph, Joey and Joeys. I like playing with alliterations. And it’s fun to draw Australian wildlife. I thought I captured my dog Joey's expression very well (detail, photo 4). Are used a parishioner for a model and his son which worked out very nice as they graciously agreed and I didn’t have to pay them! Photos 6 through 11 are shots of the church decorated for Christmas, taken before Midnight Mass. Photos 12 through 19 are shots of the same church in the day. Interesting how the light through the stained glass windows changes the look.
Photo number 20 is of three ladies from our "Ave Maria Choir" who dressed beautifully in Noel colors and look nice together for Christmas. Photo 21 it’s of the whole, same choir. They are mostly Filipinos and have adopted me as their son! They are very sweet and good to me. I really appreciate their love, prayers and support.
Photo 22 is of gifts given to the friars at Christmas. Note: this does not include the personal gifts that were given to each of us as well! And photo 23 is of our community gathered for Christmas lunch. The lunch is made by a dear parishioner and dropped off so that we can just enjoy each other's company among us brothers. From left to right or myself, Br. Dominic, Fr. Gerard, Br. Bernard, and our newest member, Fr. David who is taking over the Shrine and is our delegate, head of Australian friars.
In this photo, I’m offering a mango because since the beginning of the Christmas season here in Australia, we’ve been receiving mangoes and cherries! One gentleman gave us four crates of mangoes (a total of 48)! And we’ve been receiving about a dozen mangoes a day for the last week! They’re lovely and it’s very kind of people are thinking of us. It’s funny how Aussies associate bing cherries with Christmas here becuase they are in season and the perfect color! They are so good, too!
Hope your weather is wonderful where you are and that you are with family. Know of my love and prayers.