The last days in Kentucky were the occasion for reuniting with friends.
Author: Charles Dittmeier
Kentucky #1
After the retreat finished, I had time to visit with family and friends and take care of various tasks.
St. William Mass
The community of St. William Church in Louisville really seek to implement the liturgy defined in the documents of Vatican II, and I try to participate there when I am in Kentucky. Today I attended the 9:00 AM mass.
USA Trip #5
Gethsemani Day 4
USA Trip #4
Gethsemani Day 3
USA Trip #3
Gethsemani Day 2
Mass is at 11:30 AM and lunch is not until 12:30 PM so there was a short time after mass ended before we could go to the dining room and guys gathered in the lobby of the retreat building.
There is only a half hour allotted for each meal. That may not seem like much time but when the meals are simple and are silent, 30 minutes is quite adequate.
People can leave whenever they finish eating. We take the dishes to carts and racks to gather everything and then some of the monks wash the dishes. The food is simple but is quite good.
USA Trip #2
Gethsemani Day 1
The retreat for the Louisville priests is being held at the Gethsemane Abbey of the Trappist monks, near Bardstown, Kentucky. Gethsemane is famous as the home monastery for Fr. Thomas Merton, the author and spiritual writer who is buried there.
Many people come to Gethsemane for a time of prayer, and there are many lay people here making their retreat at the same time as we priests. Here a woman reads in an isolated area of the monastery grounds.
A view along the side of the monastery building with part of the cemetery where monks have been buried for more than 150 years.
USA Trip #1
Travel
This trip was not unusual in that it took 37 hours and four flights to get from Phnom Penh to Louisville, Kentucky, but because of the timing of the flights, it was difficult to get much sleep on the way.
Still around…
The Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year) was February 10th but many homes and businesses still have their decorations on display.
Untidy is OK
Aesthetics is not a prominent concern in Cambodia. Much of daily life is still focused on survival and so details like cleanliness, order, discipline get ignored. An example is this installation of our wi-fi router at the Deaf Development Programme. This was a new building and the installation could have been placed anywhere and taken any shape. The final result on the main corridor of our building is what is easiest and most accessible rather than might look best.