On Friday morning I left for the town of Selinsgrove, Pa, about sixty miles North of the State Capital in Harrisburg. It was a trip of a little over four hours, but the weather was great and our State is beautiful (even before the greening of the forests). The road to Selinsgrove from Harrisburg follows the scenic Susquehanna River. Selinsgrove itself is a charming little college town (Susquehanna University is located there) with a commercial strip that has everything imaginable along the way (I found my first drive thru Panera Bread - wish we had a drive thru store in our area).
My reason for traveling to Selinsgrove was to attend the Confirmation that afternoon at Saint Pius X Church for the son of a good friend of mine. I has been at this young man's baptism and first communion, I have heard his confession and now Confirmation. My hope is to be there and share in all of his sacraments. Bishop Joseph McFadden of the Diocese of Harrisburg welcomed me and shared the Sacrament with the group of twenty six youngsters from two different parishes - Saint Pius X and Saint Monica. It was a great celebration, the hospitality of Father Dan Powell, the pastor of Saint Pius was generous and I was privileged to be a part of it.
The young man that I was there for took the Confirmation name "Jean Marie" after John Mary Vianney, the Cure of Ars, patron of parish priests. There is the hope of a religious vocation here, but it is early in the discerning process. I gave him a framed quote from Saint Jean Marie Vianney on prayer, and I thought that I would share it here:
Prayer is to our soul
what rain is to the soil.
Fertilize the soil every so richly,
it will remain barren
unless
fed by frequent rains.
My next post will be about the second half of my journey.
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