Sacred Lives, Sacred Spaces

Each altarcito was blessed by Fr. Fernando.

Thanks to Brenda for all of her help with the workshop details.

The workshop students take a formal portraits with their teacher, Padre Fernando, and Brenda and Fr Ryan who took  time to visit with the students and learn about their creations.

A Most Amazing Saturday

We waved goodbye early.  The keeper awoke us early and fed us, and then left us for awhile.  We understand she went north to pick up Lupita, then headed to Bellevue to get the parenting class going and then headed back over I-90 to Seattle for a 9:15 all morning meeting with CCS Dialogue for Justice--setting up advocacy for the needs of the poor. She said it was inspiring.  But, then she spent the rest of the afternoon across the street with the Eastside leaders in their inspiring seminar on liturgical space and domestic church with Padre Fernando.  Today they constructed their own personal altarcitos, told the stories connected with them, exhibited them, blessed them.  It was a very moving time of storytelling and faith sharing. From the highly artistic and baroque to the most modern and simple, each student presented his/her altarcito with pride and tenderness.

Meanwhile, Back at Our Home

It's getting cold out. The heat is coming on now at the heat vents.  Alice took up residence in the basket near the vent with the stuffed animals and didn't budge for quite a while till the keeper reheated the salmon.

"Your Name is a Golden Bell Hung in My Heart..."

Last eve the keeper left her office and headed to the cathedral for the Mass of Remembrance for the Deceased Homeless. 57 men and women died on the streets of Seattle this past year.  That is more than one person a week! We heard that the homily was soul provoking: who is the lost coin, really? When the keeper got home she was quiet and reflective, and told us how the piper piped them out to the courtyard where the cathedral bell tolled 57 times, one for each of the deceased.  She tried to tie a name to each peal, but lost track after ten, and the tolling seemed endless.  She recalled a line from Peter Beagle, "Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart..." as the bells sang their names into eternity.

Rest in Peace

This morning the keeper found the little hummingbird on the deck by the door. The little bird was cold and had probably died in the night. We watched as she placed it on a big maple leaf and covered it with another one.  Then a beautiful larger hummingbird with a bright fuchsia head came to the feeder.  We have never seen this bird before, but it was beautiful, out of a fairy tale.  We vigiled with the little bird until the keeper came home from her office and then we had a burial in Kittyrood.  We have a special affinity for hummingbirds here, and we lit a candle which burned into the night.

Hope is That Stubborn Thing Inside Us...

A sober, stirring call to unity, to shared responsibility, to work from a more mature and and
hopeful leader.

It's True!!!!