Where the Rubber Hits the Road

  Friends of mine have just left my cottage after an eight day visit.... Dad, Mom, Hannah (5) , Jocelyn (3) and Olivia (1), together with Zack (Jack Russell Terrier) and Tawney (major league Mutt!) have just pulled out of the driveway on their way home. In their honor (and in eternal thanksgiving for the peace and quiet that has finally returned to my life), I post this video from YouTube entitled "The Dad Life". Parenthood is most certainly a vocation... because if it wasn't for God's grace... I don't kids would not live to see their 6th birthday!!!  I finally understand my father who used to call me whenever he came to the end of a visit with the grandkids at his house to tell me that I should be on my knees thanking God everyday for being a celibate!! "I like to see them come" he would say, "but I love to see them go!" Dad... for the first time in my life, I truly understand what you were telling me. You were a wise man! So, enjoy ...

Stephen Weigel, son of George & Joan Weigel, was kind enough to take some pictures while taking a tour on the Ottawa River, including this shot of my cottage. Stephen is a professional photographer who is well on his way of eclipsing his father's fame (George is a noted author, biographer of Pope John Paul II and NBC religion commentator) with his spectacular shots. Next year, Stephen will be producing a multi-media project of Churches and Chapels in Rome. It will include two versions of a book and a DVD. His Facebook page (Stephen Weigel Photography) offers a few albums of his recent work in Canada and the USA. Thank you Stephen for this gift. It helps to make clear why I so deeply appreciate my little piece of 'heaven on earth' as this photo captures the essence of the peace, quiet and isolation that my humble little cottage offers me.

Like most of my fellow priests, most Mondays are spent recovering from the frenetic activities of parish weekend life. I am among those who are fortunate to be able to spend my Monday's (at least those not lost to funerals or other parochial needs) at a cottage along side the Ottawa River that I have been slowly paying for (and continually renovating) over the past 20 years. The photo's below are different views from its cosy confines. They are for me a small foretaste of what I pray paradise must be like. Granted the view is not quite to warm and inviting during the cold weather such as this winter is offering, but even the desolate beauty of the ice and snow covered ground warms the soul of this Canadian priest. Besides, if I were to apply to the environment the religious maxim of "when in desolation, remember consolation" these photo's help me to live again the memories of warmer times spent with friends and family -  a fun thing to do anytime! Just though ...