Blogs from San Antonio, Texas, United States, North America - page 2

blog 02-27-19 Heading to San Antonio There was a rude awakening for me this morning when I looked out the window and saw the tail lights on in my car. How did that happen! All I can think of is when I turned off the lights last night after the movie I must have hit the parking lights by mistake. I tried to start the car but of course there wasn't enough juice for that. Now what, I had to be in O'Connor about 35 min away to have the oil changed in my camper at 9 am and it was 7 am. I got the jumper cables from the trunk and the plan was to ask the campground people for a jump start when they came to work. Just then a car came by and ... read more

We had a wonderful day in San Antonio. We followed the Frommers half day walking tour. Our first stop was the Market Square. Then we walked to the Spanish Governors Palace. Next we went to San Fernando Cathedral. We spent several hours on the river walk. We rode the Rio Boat tour and had a great guide. Then we ate at the Original Mexican Restaurant on the River Walk. Finally we made it to the Alamo. It Was pretty crowded since it was 4th of July. It was also extremely hot! We shopped in the mall for a bit waiting for a large rain storm to pass by. It ended up taking too long so we ordered an Uber to take us back to our car. We drove to a Walmart and picked up 3 movies ... read more

Last week, Week 15, we had our Directed retreat and, consequently there was no blog post. Since then, however, there has been a flurry of activity. It seems that for this group the retreat was a highlight and an excellent way to bring together all that has been happening ‘on the inside’. I was delighted to be able to continue to work with Janet, my spiritual director these last four months. Before retreat began I was able to return hospitality to Germaine, Helen’s friend, for her kindness to me in SA. As Annette had to leave early it was good to share lunch with her as well. Being in Texas, lunch had to be at a Tex-Mex eatery! Another highlight this week was an invitation to meet the well-known and highly respected Marianist process theologian, Fr ... read more

Week 13 April 22 This week we again enjoyed a variety of activities. It began with a site visit to Haven of Hope - a most impressive place and a credit to the city. It is a unique venture set up in 2007, on a single site on a 22 acre campus, as a joint operation of civic and business organisations to offer multiple services to people experiencing homelessness. Here about 140 organisations collaborate to provide over 300 comprehensive services. About 1700 people are served daily on the campus. (See pics for maps and mission statement, also www.haven for hope.org for further detail.) Further input this week focused on ‘Sexuality and the Celibate Lifestyle’ Brian Silva OMI, a clinical psychologist. Unfortunately Frank Santucci OMI was not well, so our scheduled ‘Charism and Mission' session was cancelled. ... read more

Last week Ron Rolheiser returned with another theme, ‘The Passion and the Cross’, much of this content is found in his recent book of the same name. As we have come to expect, his ‘take’ is usually unique. Rolheiser stressed Christ’s passivity, unlike Mel Gibson’s emphasis on the violence Christ endured as featured in his now famous movie. During last week the entire campus celebrated Earth Day. This was well-timed as spring has now transformed the barren winter landscape of January into a magnificent sea of soft green foliage and new growth. Birds, butterflies and young animals, especially squirrels, are everywhere glorifying their Creator. We celebrated with an outdoor Eucharist at the Grotto, the presider Frank Tanducci OMI, from South Africa apparently chosen for his affinity with nature, especially his interest in bird-watching. Lunch outside followed ... read more