Always be there

     I was struck by a phrase in the Collect for the Friday of the Third Week of Advent today: "May your grace, almighty God, always go before us and follow after ..."  We always desire the grace of God to be with us ... but to phrase it as "going before" and "coming after" spoke to my heart in a refreshing way.  It is so all encompassing.

     After Mass I spent a large part of the morning at a meeting of the Board of Trust Administrators [BOTA] (the pastors responsible for our school) and the School Advisory Council (SAC) (a lay group of parent advisers) discussing the future of our Junior High level at Queen of Angels.  At this time of the year we always struggle with the enrollment question at that level, as numbers drop off.  Last year the Diocese opened a Junior High level school as part of the Catholic High School in Greensburg.  In some places there is a tremendous support of parents for Catholic School Education.  In our area we have some great public school systems that provide an excellent alternative.  So we struggle. The meeting was open and frank, and productive in our early planning stages. The parents on SAC are really dedicated.

     This afternoon I went to the movies to see the new Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law.  I enjoyed this one almost as much as I enjoyed the first.  Downey and Law have great chemistry (although I did not like the Moriarty actor).  Interesting, but violent.  I've always liked the Sherlock Holmes movies, whether with Basil Rathbone or this series or the public television series with a young modern Holmes or even House, which is a take off of Holmes (although I've lost interest in that one).  It was a good afternoon.

     And lastly I was told by our Pastoral Associate of a priest friend from Pittsburgh who checked out the blog and responded well to it - Father Tom Miller.  Thanks, Tom, and I hope no one thinks less of you for checking out Journey Thoughts.