A little update

Molly, the Pastor’s dog is acting strangely this evening, almost as though a storm were coming. She doesn’t want to be left alone and is lying next to my chair; I’m lying on the couch, listening to an orchestra on PBS.

I’m not aware of any storms in the forecast and although I am tired already this evening, this has more to do with rising at 5:00 a.m. than with weather patterns. I think.

As the World Youth Day 2008 pilgrimage draws steadily nearer, preparations for the pilgrimage growing steadily more important.

Monday evening I went to visit with a leader of the other group that we will be joining for the pilgrimage. We met to work out finances and to sort through which group has paid which expenses and what not. It was a good evening and together we were able to answer a lot of questions.

This afternoon I met with half of my pilgrims to discuss the ever-important question: What do we do when we get angry at each other. This will inevitably happen as we’ll be together for some twenty-two days. The discussion was good, but it didn’t quite go where I hoped it would; you can’t force a conversation with high schoolers.

Tomorrow I will be going to Ashland to meet with the other priest that we’ll be with. He and I intend to do a lot of work on the itinerary and details relating to it. I’ll be spending the night in Ashland and rising very early on Friday morning to return to Effingham in time for Mass at 8:30, followed immediately by a meeting, the topic of which I do not know.

Friday afternoon will be filled with soccer games and in the evening the parish will celebrate its titular feast with a special Mass followed by a dinner.

The next couple of days will be very enjoyable, but will also be a lot of work and rather draining. I’m feeling more tired simply thinking about them.

But for the time being I must wait for the Pastor’s return – I’ve no idea where he’s gone – so Molly will not wake me when he returns.