This Morning Rally for Life in Raleigh, NC

It was so great to be back in my home parish of St. Joseph's. The Bishop came and celebrated a Mass for Life! Ben and Noah served! I saw so many of my friends for the first time out of a school setting. It was great to see some of the Seminarians as well and Fr. Ned came to our basketball game!

I love my Basketball Team!

We played today and we won! It was great to be back with all my friends!
Go Lady Chancelors!

Home... How exciting to see all the Family...

Cant say much now but the pictures say more...

A visit to Cardinal Newmans Home...

Sarah played Bach in the Newman Library and it was so beautiful! Sr. Mary greeted us and was so excited to share with us her knowledge of Cardinal Newman...Thank you Sr. Mary it was a blessed visit!

We had tea with Sr. Mary who is of the Sisters of the Work whom run the Newman home and also work at the Library in Rome. The picture at the top was of the writing desk of Cardinal Newmans that also was used as an altar when he entered the Church. Amazing...

So much Grace was found at the home of this man in the painting which was painted by Br. Francis CFR. We were so blessed visiting Littlemore...

Oxford University

Today we went to Oxford University a very thoughtful place with many a bearded

man. Beautiful town and so very quaint. Of course the great draw for us was a man called J.R.R. Tolkein... we had visions of Hobit Holes, Prancing Pony Inns, black riders and of course Mideval Castles and Queens and Kings Lords and Ladies... All were spinning a tale as we walked throught the Icy cold streets! More Tea was a constant thought as well...

We also visited the site of the 12th Century Greyfriars ruins under a Supermarket? see photo above... This is the second time St. Francis wanted my mom to join in the suffering when she smashed into her Right elbow against the wall on the steps. The only time she fell before was a graceful one in Assisi...

Back to London

We got our first blessing from Fr. Brian after Mass today! We left Quarr and the Isle of Wight after lunch to go back up to London. We regretted to leave Quarr and the peace that we had there during our retreat and visit with Fr. Brian. Tomorrow we will go to Oxford University. Tonight weare staying at the Tyburn Benedictine Convent where the 40 English Martyrs were killed(alot of them anyway). We regret that we will not be able to stay there long enough to venerate the relics there. because we will be getting there late tonight, gone all day tomorrow, and leaving early on Sunday for the airport. Thanks to Fr. Brian for arranging for us to stay there!

Tyburn, near Marble Arch, was the site of ' The King's Gallows'from 1196 to 1783. It was thus the one-way destination forsix centuries for every kind of criminal.

A very warm welcome to Tyburn Convent, London, our Mother House.
All you who pass by ­ come- Glorify, magnify God with us:Sing his splendour and triumph,Exalt his great might;Ever reigning in glory,How awesome his light!Glory, praise and thanks without end To YOU, O Blessed Trinity!

The Founder Mother Marie Adele Garnier said: " we are one family, born such from the Heart of Jesus, and spread abroad in various places for the extension of his Kingdom." So, our ministry of prayer, our spiritual motherhood, is always Catholic or Universal in its scope, and overflows in hospitality to all guests seeking God in the prayerful peace of the monastery.

Bike for Life in UK?

It’s SNOWING!!!!! I am writing at 9:45 and it is starting to SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!! We’ve been having a very relaxing retreat here at Quarr with Fr. Brian. Yesterday, Sabrena and Fr. Brian went for a bike ride around the area. They went to the first house that the Solems lived in, which was bombed in WW II. They ate lunch there. It was a six hour bike ride! Lots of hills towering hills! The weather was pretty nice yesterday, except for an occasional wind. I didn’t go because I wasn’t feeling well, but I feel just fine now so no worries! I read Oedipus Rex, the book I’m reading for Literature Class in 2 hours! Sabrena and I are finishing the book Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. We will watch the movie on the train up to London on Friday.
We have been able to go to Mass and almost all the hours every day from Vigil, or the Office of Readings, to Compline, or Night prayer and everything in between! This morning I actually got up at 5am for Vigil for the first time this week! Then I went back to sleep at 6:20, got up again at 6:45 and went to Lauds! This morning for breakfast, we had Wheatabix. It is a bar of grain kind of like a cereal bar, and you pour milk over it like cereal and eat it. (We put a little pinch of sugar with some bananas in it to give it some flavor). It was pretty good. We are blending right in to the English culture…
Tonight Fr. Brian is going to have Dinner with us in the flat. We are having pasta with a spinach mushroom and white wine sauce. We are putting in garlic from the Garlic Farm on the Island and an onion from the monastery garden. Mmmmm! The monks have been so hospitable feeding us some massive meals during the octave of Christmas. We have not eaten this much since we left Italy save the night in the Friary for Carol’s Birthday dinner. Thank you all who have given us of the bounty of the earth. May God reward you hundredfold!
It is time for sext the little hours of the monastery which is so peaceful and wonderful to participate in. Then off to lunch to hear the biography of an English diplomat during the Cold War in the 1960’s we have been hearing the book every meal in the refectory…
We suggested that they might read the biography of J.R.R. Tolkien then we will join them again for meals in the refectory…

We visited Sr. Mary David who is Benedictine and she gave us a summary of life in the Convent. They are very good at calligraphy, baking, they have apple pears and berries, they sing beautifully and especially nice is they make the altar bread. It is made with whole wheat. It does taste heavenly. We had the Eucharist here at the monastery which was first the altar bread of the sisters. The nuns do sound like angels! It was amazing going to Vespers at the Convent there! Everything was in Latin and was chanted so beautifully. It was lovely. Here on the Isle of Wight, it was Epiphany so the Mass and the antiphons for the prayers were for Epiphany! Today I learned for Fr. Brian that standing is a sign of the Resurrection. That’s why in the traditional High Mass you stand more than in the Low Mass!! Because the High Masses are for Sundays mainly (and other solemnities which are treated like Sundays) and Sunday is the day of the Resurrection! Ah ha!! I get it. Check out their website. If you want caligraphy or to have wonderful alter bread contact the sisters! http://www.stceciliasabbey.org.uk/introduction/introduction.html

Isle of Wight! Yay!!

Sarah in Quarr chapel

Sarah and Fr. Brian her Godfather!

We keep taking our luggage and pillows...

We are here and the sign to prove it we took the ferry over it was a pleasant trip!

We are here at last!! The Isle of Wight! This morning we rode the ferry from Lymington to the Island and took a bus to Quarr Abbey. We finally got to see and for me meet Fr. Brian after 13 years!! It is gorgeous on the Isle even though it is a bit chilly. I can only imagine what it is like in the summer! I went for a run along a path that led to the Ocean today! The sun was just beginning to set and so I got to see it setting over the Ocean! We will be on retreat here and visiting with Fr. Brian until the 9th when we go up to Oxford University and then back to America. I feel sad that this trip is near its end even though I still miss home a little. This trip will forever remain fondly in my memory for many years to come. Well, tomorrow I am going to visit the Benedictine Sisters of St. Cecilia just 10 min. down the road! I hear they sing like Angels.

Lymington, England

Is that a descendant of Bill I thought I heard him talking?!

Crackers are fun!

Sarah and Mom at the sisters christmas tree!

Very nice chapel!

Today we were at the Dominican Sisters of St. Joseph on Lymington. It was very relaxing as we didn’t go anywhere today. It is Eric’s Birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! We were able to phone home which was not easy on this trip but it was great to hear their voices…Today was a relaxing day which we participated in the Liturgy of the Hours and went for a walk in the woods across the street. We saw the New Forest Ponies just wandering around eating. Their faces were almost human-like and they almost seemed to speak just like Bill the pony after the Company left Rivendell in Lord of the Rings. We thought that maybe they were descendants of Bill (ha ha!). There was also a little yellow and orange cat that followed us on our walk for a while. We petted it for a while and kept walking. The Christmas trees at the Sisters’ house were beautiful! They were very simple with only lights and silver tinsel on them. We were fed very well by the sisters and God has been very good to us on this trip. Our retreat has begun.

Check out their website here... http://www.dominicansrs.co.uk/

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We've been at the Youth 2000 since Tues night. it was cool. We had a midnight Mass and got out of mass around 2am!! Here are some pictures from the retreat as well. HAPPY NEW YEAR again!!

1- Sarah, Br. BarnabusCFR, and Sabrena at Youth 2000

2- Sarah and 2 new friends

3- more Youth 2000

4- The "Burning Bush"

5- At the St. Fidelis Friary