Getting ready for Lent has been a great experience down here. There are many Catholics at the pool, on the golf course and of course the Catholic churches are packed.
The other day I played golf with a couple of Irish Catholics from Boston. We had a great time and I learned more about Boston and golf. One of them shot a 76 (that’s good!) I shot 93.
Getting ready to tee off with the Boston group
Then there was the fat Tuesday party at the pool. A Catholic couple from Cleveland organized it. Chuck plays the keyboard and sings. John from Kanata accompanied him on the concertina (tiny squeeze box) and ukulele. They played and sang from a songbook the types of songs everyone knows e.g., O Sola Mio.
Left to right Jack, Chuck and John
Everyone brought some food and drinks. There was pizza, egg rolls, spinach pie, spare ribs, chicken wings, salsa and lots of sangria. Yum! People gathered round or stayed in the pool. We had so much food and drink, no dinner was needed. Americans are very sociable, hospitable and loud! We had a great evening and the temp was 32 celsius.
Ash Wednesday we went to the 9 AM service at the Church of the Resurrection of our Lord. It was a wonderful solemn mass with Msgr. McNamara celebrating. We lingered to take a few pics.
Then it was off to Lakes Park for the Wednesday morning green market stroll. We felt blessed with the abundance that God has provided us with as we embark on our Lenten journey back to Him.
Our Lenten journey begins
May you have a productive and deeply spiritual Lenten journey too.
Here is a poem I loved reading this morning by Rita A. Simmonds entitiled Almsgiving.
An unseasonably warm March morning has brought of assortment of souls to the boardwalk:
Young women pushing strollers, talking on cell phones, the local crowd conversing loudly, swilling beer before lunch, old men sunning themselves on benches reading Russian news, a pack of boys on big-tired bikes riding, skipping school –
All seeking sun and warmth leaving behind the longest shortest month.
Me too or so I thought, but why this cry I can’t suppress, “A perfect day is not enough!”?
A thin dark man with missing teeth somehow must have heard.
He came to me with cup in hand, but it wasn’t the giving that made me glad.
It was the coming of the man.
(The Magnificat Lenten Companion, c. 2017)
mattersofthemoment 
Love the poem.
On Wed, Mar 1, 2017 at 1:39 PM, mattersofthemoment wrote:
> morgandw1 posted: “Getting ready for Lent has been a great experience down > here. There are many Catholics at the pool, on the golf course and of > course the Catholic churches are packed. The other day I played golf with a > couple of Irish Catholics from Boston. We had a gr” >
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