The school year is done – hallelujah! There has been much celebrating around our house, in the way of sleeping in, staying up late, going to pool parties, and most especially NOT doing any homework. We have, of course, instituted new screen time rules for the summer on tablets, TV and computers, as well as a new roster for KP duty. So far it all seems to be flowing seamlessly, for which I am eternally grateful.
Sunday was a going-to-grandma’s-after-mass day, and that was exciting enough, but when we pulled into the church parking lot, once again, it seemed unusually full for more than a half-hour early. Having learned my lesson the last time this happened, when I had to park 5 rows away from the church, I assented when Paul asked if I wanted the chair. As we approached the building, we saw a group of grey-clad monks crossing the parking lot, and that was exciting! What could be the big event of the day, we wondered? We were able to get a full pew in the front section to the right of the altar, behind the aforementioned monks. The order of service soon explained the buzz of excitement in the air and the rapidly filling seats: The Transitional Diaconate Ordination! That, of course, explained the dozens of seminarians sitting in front of us, and the empty rows in the front of our section that were marked reserved.
Well before the processional began, all the seats were full and people were standing along the walls in the aisles! Whoo! And then the organ began to play, and in came rank upon rank of diocesan clergy to celebrate the momentous occasion!
I had recognized, as I waited, that I was here at the cathedral for an Event, and I actually had my camera with me. I was tempted, believe me… but I also knew the Catholic Sun photographer would be here and he does an absolutely stellar job so I just stayed in my pew and watched him work his magic throughout the mass. (Yes, it was hard for me to pay attention sometimes, with half my brain thinking about how I would capture a good angle for this or that moment…) I was, however, paying attention for my favorite part, when the bishop presents the new deacons with the Gospel and says,
“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become.
Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and
practice what you teach.”
It was all such a beautiful ceremony, and performed by our wonderful Bishop Navares, whom I love and wish we could see more often.
Here are the fantastic photos from the event.
The mass was quite a bit longer than usual due to the ordination service and the extra large crowd for communion, so we were late getting to Grandma’s – which meant we ate lunch almost immediately. It was a sweet hangout, with Ruben and Noel playing in their blanket fort, while the big kids played some kind of complicated card game with Ana. Only a few pics of the day…
I had a special outing planned for Monday morning to celebrate the end of the school year, taking advantage of Paul’s day off of work. We all piled into the van and went downtown to the Arizona Center for some photo fun. As soon as we had parked in the high profile vehicle area beside the parking garage, there were kids running toward the stairs… those kids climbed up eight stories to the very tippy top of the building to lean over and wave! 😀 I was pretty impressed with their stamina – thank you, Maryvale Prep, for the multi-level classroom buildings that require navigating stairs every day.
Then it was out into the mall to wander around and find some photo opportunities. Ruben found some rolling-in-the-grass opportunities right away! We wandered down to the frog statues, then found a great staircase for posing kids. By then, everyone was famished and thirsty. I had plans for lunch, but I didn’t want them dying of thirst so we found a Bosa Donuts that was open and everybody got something to drink. (And Natalie bought a breakfast sandwich and shared bites around the crew.) That was enough to tide them over until the restaurants opened for lunch. In the meantime, Natalie found the electric scooters, figured out how to rent one, and then she didn’t have to walk the rest of the way (and Ellie snagged short ride too!).
And that was it for our photowalk. We circled back around to the parking garage and loaded up, then found a nearby Habit Burger that was just about to open, and filled all those empty tummies with a bunch of expensive-but-worth-it burgers. As photo excursions go, it was one of the more successful ones.
Now begins the summer, and tomorrow, college classes for both Natalie and Jordan.
