The Bishop’s Note
As I sit in my hotel room in the beautiful mountainous town of Orizaba, which is about a twenty minute drive to Fr. Martín’s chapel in Dos Rios, I am pondering the old missionaries to our country and the inconveniences and hardships they had to endure in their travels. Often, their journeys were perilous, either on land or on water. The missionaries out west had the additional worry about run-ins with the Indian tribes. Their missionary zeal is always edifying.
This trip to Mexico, while it cannot be compared to any of the trips of the real missionaries, has been a test of patience, confidence, and of stamina. I will tell it here for your entertainment.
I had only gotten back to St. Gertrude’s from Seattle the night of Saturday the 12th. Sunday was spent in church, at the Rosary procession, and packing before getting up at 3am for an early morning flight to Mexico with a connection through Dallas. Weather was bad in Dallas and no one was able to land, and the pilot of our plane was having doubts about the amount of fuel we had, so we landed in Oklahoma City to refuel. By the time we got back up in the air and arrived in Dallas I had missed my connecting flight. Next, they put me on a flight from Dallas to Mexico City, and Mexico City to Vera Cruz, making for a very long day (from the time I got up to the time I went to bed it was 22 hours).
The trip to Mexico City was uneventful, except that I thought I was supposed to pick up my checked luggage before going through customs. The bag did not arrive and I was told that it would be transferred to my final destination. Then it was through the customs line where they had a dog going by and sniffing for drugs. Boy, did that dog like my bag. The security guard pulled me aside and asked if I had any food in the bag. Just an unopened bag of peanuts! So I was about to be searched for drugs and such before I realized what I had in my bag. Homemade granola bars! That is what the dog smelled. I would have given him one, but I needed them for the trip. Hmmm…almost got searched for drugs thanks to granola bars. That struck me as being quite hilarious.
Once that adventure was over I nearly missed my flight from Mexico City to Vera Cruz, arriving at the gate just in the nick of time. When we got to Vera Cruz I waited and waited for my luggage which had my vestments and all that was needed for Confirmations and Mass. It never arrived. In fact, it is still in Dallas, or perhaps in flight on its way down here. Fr. Martín let me borrow a priest’s cassock that was 5 or 6 inches too short, an alb of the same length, and a black biretta. No mitre, no crozier, no Canon, no Pontifical. It was interesting, but we pulled off the ceremony.
There were a number of First Communions and about 40 or 50 Confirmations. There was the Imposition of the Brown Scapular as well. Much good was done that day. Father’s church in Dos Ríos is a beautiful one and he is improving it each year. The unfortunate part of the day was that some of Bishop Loya’s clergy and seminarians were allowed to show up and take part in the ceremony and hear confessions. I did not know that they were invited, who they were, nor even that the men serving my Mass were seminarians until one of them pulled out a Deacon’s stole for Holy Communion. Had I known all of this beforehand, I would have done things differently.
Tomorrow (Thursday) it is off to Xalapa, Mexico, where Father has a new mission chapel. The Faithful there watch the SGG webcast on a regular basis. Then, thankfully, back to SGG on Friday.
Fr. McKenna has been having a busy week back home and is holding down the fort for the time being, dealing with issues in the missions, mostly. I hope he gets a little rest before his next trip.
Congratulations to Michael and Marcella (Arlinghaus) Hudson on their wedding yesterday. May Our Lord grant them many graces throughout their married life together.
We have the CMC meeting tomorrow evening and then the Girl’s Camp begins on Tuesday. May God grant great and lasting fruit to our apostolate.
– Bishop McGuire