Today was the beginning of the annual retreat for all the priests of Cambodia. It is held at the Catholic center in Sihanoukville and for most of us it was a travel day to this southernmost province in the kingdom. In the picture, Bishop Olivier welcomes everyone to the gathering
The Internet doesn’t reach to my room and I have to go to another building to make these posts so I probably will only get to post things here once a day. On Tuesday I will set up a main page for the retreat which will link to the individual days.
Many of the international schools in Phnom Penh are giving final exams to their students in May, and in the religious education program for the English-speaking Catholic community, we had our final class this past weekend. There weren’t any exams but rather we had a farewell for Ms. Beata Pratiwi (far right) who has been a coordinator for the program but is now returning to Indonesia.
Tonight was the culmination of the church’s liturgical year with the Easter Vigil celebration of Christ’s rising from the dead. Our English community gathered at World Vision. 
Today was both New Year’s Day for the Khmer people and Good Friday for the Christians. Because it was a holiday the traffic was much less for those traveling to St. Joseph Church but then many people also left town for the long new year holiday. 
Today is new year’s eve for the Khmer New Year but is Holy Thursday in the Christian calendar. Only one liturgy is allowed for a parish community on this day and we gathered in the evening at St. Joseph Church. 
Palm Sunday is one of those days that traditionally many Catholics try to attend mass. Although longer than usual, the service is different in a way that attracts people and holds their attention. 
Lent is a very meaningful season for most Catholic Christians and it is taken seriously. Our English Catholic community tries to celebrate the different events of Lent in a way that invites people to participate and that supports them in their struggle to live as followers of Christ. 
