I’ll give all the credit for that flower for the Immaculate Conception to a good friend. That flower witnessed the event some feet away from his workshop and was likely spattered with blood as he sped by, racing back to his house, blood spurting from his hand.
He had been doing up some super-tricky table saw work for a new system for hanging up the church signs up at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Robbinsville. Yikes!
He had also been sprucing up those signs with some new paint, metallic gold for the cross, chrome paint for “Prince of Peace”, bright white for “Catholic Church,” a brighter Mary-blue for the main field, with the addition of some unexpected drops of red here and there.
He said to wait until Friday, yesterday, to pick them up. That’s not my usual epic Day Off to accomplish such trips, as there is Noon Mass, with yesterday also being the 1st Class Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, which is extra appropriate in this case, and then 7:00 PM Adoration.
The hundreds of miles round trip began at 6:00 AM, with a successful return just 15 minutes before Holy Mass began. Thanks, guardian angels.
July 4th weekend traffic was crazy fast!!!!!!!!!! even early morning Friday on the Smoky Mountain Expressway, like I’ve never seen before, and then on 26 south of Asheville, and then 280 below that continuation of the New Madrid fault mountain chain. There were plenty of police pulling people over, blue lights everywhere. No one cared. Be careful out there this weekend.
July 4th weekend traffic was crazy sloooooooooooow going through the Nantahala gorge, as the kayakers were out in force, as expected. That’s the occasional price to pay for one’s parish including some of the most beautiful and most visited National Park in the country (at least checking stats many years ago). They all have a mantra: “Let’s travel waaaaaaaaaaaaaay under the speed limit to take in the beauty!” I get that. It’s all good. But the locals ride the bumpers of the gawkers. Be careful out there this weekend.
After Holy Mass in Andrews, I ran the (church) signs up across the mountain to Robbinsville. I was just able to get them out of Tessie the Toyota and under the overhang before thunderous downpours. There they sit, waiting to be put up, which is a little bit tricky, due to the new attachment system that our newly bandaged friend worked on.
It was the side of one finger. He’s not complaining. He’s pretty tough. Meanwhile, much of our conversation is about SCOTUS decisions, the reversal of Roe v Wade, the EPA decision, the 2nd Amendment decisions, both the one about the constitutional right to carry and the one kicking the ATF in the face about their chevron idiocy. Meanwhile, the flower for the Immaculate Conception is holding up. It’s a new twist on the saying of the Fathers of the Church waaaay back in the day, that the blood of martyrs waters the garden of faith, or words to that effect. :-)
By the way, this is the same friend who planned out, created (lathing and everything) and installed our beautiful altar rails the other year. How about a Hail Mary for his efforts? Hail Mary…
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 
I love how you ask for prayers at the end. Always giving glory to God and honor to Mary.
Reading about the toooo fast drivers and the pokie ones for some reason makes me think about how that’s exactly why we have troubles in our culture and our churches because of taking things to the extreme, one way or another?
Truth is not a middle between extremes. It is what it is: God Himself. That’s also said to be extreme by society, but God is love.
Yes. Amen. Thank you.