The first week

Like Michael and Tyler have written about their first week(s) in their respective parishes, I thought that I would do the same. I moved in last Saturday and was welcomed very warmly by the pastor's dog, Chloe. She is a black lab and is pretty calm to say the least. I have done a couple of communion calls and gone out visiting the sick. The past couple of days have been eventful. Last night (and today) I introduced myself at each of the masses and at the mission parish in Revillo, SD (about 15 miles southeast of Milbank, SD), a new statue and prayer garden were blessed, and whenever something like this happens in a small town, there is bound to be a potluck. I have experienced my fair share of potlucks when I traveled in the diocese on a Totus Tuus team for a couple of summers. I have gotten to know a couple of different families pretty well, and I am grateful for a wonderful parish and a good pastor to share this summer with. There is another fishing tournament coming up to benefit seminarian education, as well as a wedding of a guy I was in seminary with for three years. To top June off, I will be heading to Pipestone, MN, for a Mass of Thanksgiving of a soon to be ordained priest from the St. Paul Seminary.