A lesson in Trust as John held the post and Pat muscled it into the ground - building a fence to keep the 800 boys that will passing through St Pierre for World Youth day in Spain from tumbling down the steep hill. Hallel will be involved in going to World Youth day in August too! She certainly has an exciting life filled with many marvelous experiences in our glorious Church! 
A funny story as to why the small 3 wheel pickup will not back up, but must be pushed backwards... involving Pat and a tiny little sister and cement in the back and the steep hills that make up Saint Pierre, and Pat getting out to push when it wouldn't climb the hill and the pickup - little sister and all tipping straight up on the tailgate! No one was hurt except for the little pickup's reverse! Pat made his mark on a few things at Saint Pierre! And how they laughed at the picture of him pushing up the pickup backwards with the little sister and the cement... up and up and up many hills to the village where it was needed to finish an unfinished project!
Now putting the boards on the fence with my help, John's help, and his mom's help...It was a family time and that is always important to Pat and his kids and now his grandkids!
Early morning conversation reminded me of Pat's wisdom and clarity! Yesterday I was excitedly telling some people that Simon was going to show a pig at the fair! One person asked if Simon wanted to show the pig, and it threw me off. I haltingly explained that he would rather do that than show a cow or calf, because deep down I know that Simon is not in love with livestock - he prefers equipment. The next comment was about how little he is, with some concern that he could get hurt by the pig and I started to question that we were doing the right thing!
When I mentioned this to Pat... he without giving it any thought said; "It is the family he is born into and it is not a question of whether he will!" It is so true that we raised our kids to be a part of our life, and there were those that prefered not to.... but that was not a point of discussion. They showed cattle at the fair year after year, just like the ones that did like it, and they are the better for it. Mostly because they were shown that life is not to be taken as we like it alone, but also involves those things that we would rather not... but do out of obedience to those that are over us! It is such a powerful life lesson to take with you into marriage and the vocations that the Lord directs us to. It is also important for us as individuals, on our faith journey, to realize that the world does not revolve around us,but around our Lord and Savior.. and we are asked to give up of our selfish desires, and give our lives to HIM!
Hallel watches the Word come forth with great and immediate JOY! The most powerful story about this way that we raised our kids... is with Maria... she was not a 6 year old, like Simon is now, but she was 18, and we were looking at colleges with her in her senior year. One day we visited ST Thomas in ST Paul, and also Gustavus about an hour and 1/2 away. She seemed to like both, but was overwhelmed by the size of the city surrounding ST Thomas, while Gustavus was more in a quieter setting. She turned to us after, and told us that she thought that she would pick Gustavus as "there is no difference with my scholarships they would both cost about the same."
We quickly informed her that she was wrong... there was a huge difference.... We would not pay for a private education at a non Catholic college and yes, there was a huge difference! You have to understand that Maria was hugely questioning her Catholic faith at this time, and was going to leave the Church, and start attending an E free as soon as she got away from home. The story goes that she asked a seminarian a few days after getting to St Thomas as to where she could find an E free Church, as she was leaving behind her Catholic faith. "We have to talk!" was his famous line to her, and they met and talked and she told me later..."not only did I not miss going to weekly mass.. I started going to daily mass". Her thirst for knowledge about her faith led her into Catholic Studies at ST Thomas, which is out of this world amazing, and then she studied in Rome for a year, entered the Poor Clares for 5 months, married a foremer seminarian, and they attend daily mass yet, and have a wonderful Catholic home, and are raising "saints".... I think you can see where I am going with this... YOU are the parents and YOU are there to guide and direct your children in life, and not to be their friend! YOU are given the responsibility to raise LIGHTS! 
Wonderful Pat with his work buddy, Mialese! How he loved to help out and how they loved to have his big shoulders set to the task at hand! First Guatemala got him fired up and now he has Saint Pierre and his daugthers there in his newest family thanks to Hallel answering her call! We also encouraged our children in many ways to consider religious life as a very wonderful option for them to listen to in their hearts and souls!
How my husband loves to talk and share, and it is so deep and so wise, for the most part! He blew me away on the last day we had with our Susan/Hallel, and he told her how he wanted for each of his children to make it to heaven, and the powerful journey was going to assist her there. Hallel just threw it back at him, and told him that she needed many prayers and that was his job. Someone then said that all that matters is that your kids are happy. Pat without hesitation said; "NO, there is happiness that is not real, and people can be misled by that. I want my kids to follow the Truth into heaven!" I was amazed and deeply touched - maybe close to everything else that we experienced there, and that is saying a LOT!
It is so wonderful that we now share the knowledge and love of France! It was hard going without him 2 years ago,when Hallel took her habit and John was so sick after brain surgery and chemo... just barely able to walk for the first time alone! How Pat wept at the transformation of the 5 girls, who took the habit and changed their names! He could go back and know the river of tears and emotion Nancy, John and I had experienced two years before! So out of the world amazing... such an experience of LOVE and the Most Cherished Cross!
Maria just called to wish us a happy anniversary. We had a great talk, and I shared that I had just written her story of conversion on my blog. She shared how wonderful the kids had just done on their 7 1/2 hour trip to Nashville and back and how they had sat through the 2 1/2 hour service and mass in which Sr Elizabeth had taken her final vows. "The biggest challange I had was that Therese kept saying; 'What will Sr Elizabeth say when I tell her that I am going to be a sister? I want to be Sr Maria someday! I want to be a Sister!' " I cried at the beauty of her wanting to consider the call and seeing the beauty of this life at only 3 years old! Too beautiful and sweet for words! I talked to her on the phone and her small sweet voice told me; "I want to be Sr Maria, grandma."
I must go the clothesline and the garden are calling me... Jesus, thank you for the 33 years I have had with my wonderful Patrick and his strong wisdom and determination... yes, it drives me kind of crazy sometime, but it is like a tidal wave of Truth crashing over my head! Give me more years with him and more willingness to give of myself even when I rebel and want to say "no." Help me to be more willing to love and not count the cost with those closest to me. Thank you for our domestic Church - our family and may it be a small slice of heaven here on earth. Use us to love and serve you in one another. Jesus, we trust in you! Amen and Hosanna and Halleluia!
Bless-bless, Barb....Our Lady intercede for us on this special day of rememberance and celebration - our 33rd anniversary!"The kingdom of God, therefore, is something that the individual, from the age of reason to the end of life, must continually realize for himself. He must continually hammer away at the Truths of Faith, endeavoring to get more out of them, to find in them the help and guidance that daily life continually demands. The whole series of mysteries will certainly be of no use to me in my endless advance toward God unless I try to make them my own by ceaselessly pondering over them. Of themselves, they are just the bare outlines of truths, yet it is not truths, but the facts that are contained in the truths, that are ultimately to influence my life... I shall never become interested in religion until I have come to see that I must make it personal to myself - chew it, digest it, form out of it the sinews of my spiritual being."
Fr Jarrett (1934) was a Dominican priest from England
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