San Diego – No Sunshine for me, no Conference….
First, thank you for the prayers, love and kindness which you sent my way and to heaven that I may get the visa. Well, I did not get the visa but God answered our prayers differently as he sometimes does. After all the attempts made, including intervention from MP’s office, the embassy could not do anything. In all of this, however, I have met amazing people along the way both on the phone and in person. For that I’m very grateful. I now have an interview on January 22nd. Once I get the visa, I will be ready to attend the conference next year January.
Initially I was a little bit sad that I missed the opportunity of visiting a new place, meeting new people, learning more and enjoying San Diego’s sunshine. However, at some point, I received the grace to accept the situation and opened my heart to receive the new gift God gave me. The new gift I received was this: I stayed in the Augustinian Monastery where I prayed, relaxed, reflected, read, made new friends, visited Sacred heart school and met the teachers and students. But not only that – I also enjoyed some good food and drink with my new friends. We even sang Karaoke as we enjoyed a glass of wine and beer. On Wednesday, we attended the funeral of Monsignor Pedro, a priest of the Archdiocese of Vancouver who served the Lord for 68 years. He was a regular columnist in BC Catholic. This quotation is from his article on Adoration:
My beloved Jesus, I thank you for meeting me in this holy
Silence – Meditations for Eucharistic Devotion, Vandy Brennan Nies, Ligouri, Missouri, 2010
silence. What a gift this is. What a gift you are. Thank you,
Jesus, for staying with me, even though you have so many
problems with this world you created. You give me your time
and listen to my voice as a father, a friend, a Redeemer.
At the funeral, Archbishop Miller said that though Monsignor had been successful in many areas of his life, towards the end, he shared with the Archbishop his hope and desire: to return to the home of the Father. The responsorial psalm sung that day echoed that desire: ‘My soul is thirsting for you, my God. When can I enter and see the face of God.’ Isn’t this our own hope and the greatest desire of our heart?
Change of Office hours: This year, the office will be open to the public from 9am to 1pm. This will allow Melinda uninterrupted time for her other office work. Thank you for your understanding.
Family Night: Next week, January 19 at 4:30pm is our next family Night. Remember it is for all our families. It is going to be very special. We will take you round the world to enjoy different cuisines from Portugal, Philippines, Korea, Italy & Nigeria. We will also be introducing the saints from these countries and prayers associated with them. See you there next week. Come one, come all. Check the front page for more details.
Fr. Harry: Until now, Fr. Harry has been retired in Kelowna. He will be relocating to Penticton the first week of February. We wish him a wonderful, happy and blessed retirement in our community. He will be helping out when and wherever he is needed. He said to me: “My main work in Penticton is to slow you down: )” Please join me to welcome him and offer him all the love he needs in order to retire in our community with dignity.
Your brother ~ Fr. Obi