Mercedarian Formation

Following my Mercedarian brothers to Our Lady of Lourdes for Soup and Salvation dinner. This is the parish's way of honoring the fast on Wednesdays of Lent by offering simple soup and bread. Panera Bread Company donates their day old bread to us and we make split pea or similar soup for whoever wants to attend. I'm getting to know the parishioners this way, little by little each Wednesday. Lenten fasts help us restrain our natural urgings and desires so we can focus more on spiritual things instead of being driven by only the flesh. Today is also St. Patrick's Day, so happy feast day all you Patrick's out there and all those of Irish decent! St. Patrick, though Welsh by origin, was sold as a slave and returned to Ireland where he became a priest and eventually a bishop. Few saints are known to have converted a whole nation as did St. Patrick. God bless the Irish! May they forever have a fervent veneration of their beloved St. Patrick!

Father Matthew wrote on my St. Patrick's Day card, "May snakes always avoid you!" You may have heard St. Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland. That is an unexpected but funny petition for my future!