Associates: Rev. Matthew Vandewalle
Rev. Mark Cyza
Deacon: Rev. Mr. Sean Kilcawley
- Friday (2 July) Pewee Valley to Lincoln
My sister Jane drove me to the airport and I caught my first flight to Detroit. There I had a long walk across a terminal to the departure gate for a flight to Minneapolis. From there I flew to Lincoln where Fr. Rob Tucker was waiting to welcome me and drive me to the rectory of the cathedral. After supper with Mark Cyza, ordained a month ago, Rob showed me around the church.
- Saturday (3 July)
Saturday was a busy day at the cathedral, much busier than Saturdays in most parishes I have been in. In the morning, Fr. Cyza took me with him to the post office and a Catholic religious goods store to give me a chance to see a little of the city. Then there were two weddings before the 6:00 PM mass for which I was the celebrant. After the mass there was a holy hour to honor U.S. military personnel, led by Deacon Sean Kilcawley, a West Point graduate who will become a priest next May. After that, during the last of three sessions of confessions during the day, I set up some tables in the vestibule for displaying some of the materials from Cambodia that I brought with me.
- Sunday (4 July)
Sunday started off with the 6:00 AM mass for which I was presider again. After that I preached at four more morning masses at 7:30, 9:00, 10:30, and 12:00 noon. My voice was beginning to get a bit raspy by mid morning. One thing helpful is that all of the parishes I have talked in during the last several years have had body mikes which allow me to move around while I am talking to show posters or other objects that I use to illustrate the homily. After the last mass there was a baptism in the cleverly designed vestibule which also serves as a cry room and baptistry. The last mass of the weekend was at 6:00 PM.
A large statue of the Risen Savior outside the cathedral reflects the corn-growing economy and reputation of Nebraska. The clothes of Jesus are arranged to look like he is emerging from a corn husk, and his ribs suggest rows of corn on a cob.
After the Sunday evening mass, Fr. Tucker took me to his brother's house for supper and Fourth of July fireworks displays. Coming from Kentucky where all fireworks are basically illegal except sparklers and bottle rockets, I was amazed at the number of families on each street setting off huge volumes of fireworks of all kinds. Families would sit in lawn chairs in their driveways and watch while the children lit round after round of ground and aerial pyrotechnics. They really celebrate the Fourth here!
- Monday (5 July)
Today was a national holiday so there was not much activity at the cathedral except for the full complement of two morning and one evening mass. I spent a good part of the day fighting with computers, trying to get a laptop to connect with our Maryknoll ISP in New York, and then working to rid an office computer of spyware. Later in the day I went for a long walk to see some of Lincoln and then Matt Vandewalle introduced me to Culver's, a high-end fast food place that was really nice.
- Tuesday (6 July)
Today was another day that centered on computers. Still can't get the laptop to connect to the ISP even after calling the ISP help desk. I used an office computer to book a rental car for the trip tomorrow to Red Cloud, my base of operations for the next couple weeks. an interesting part of today was lunch when Bishop Bruskewitz and several of the chancery staff came to the rectory to eat. The bishop is a very personable man full of stories and details of Nebraska's Catholic history.