A good thought for the day

From a Franciscan solitary who blogs at Little Portion Hermitage...a reflection on the gospel for Friday of Easter week:

http://littleportionhermitage.blogspot.com/2009/04/gone-fishin.html

Easter Sunday

No new photos today, but I did make a web page of all the photos that have appeared here during Lent, plus a few more that I liked: http://www.klickfamily.com/vickie/Lent 2009
I'll keep using this blog, but probably not quite as regularly as I have up to now...and probably not always with photos.

To those who walked with me through Lent through this blog, thank you very much. I hope that Lent was a fruitful time for you. Easter blessings to all!

Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil

I went to Easter Vigil at St. Joseph's Church on the near north side of Chicago, which was standing in for Holy Name Cathedral since it's unusable due to fire damage. While waiting to watch my friend Leo be baptized by Cardinal George, I noticed the gifts waiting on the table gleaming in the late-afternoon sun, and thought this would be a fitting photo.

Blessed Easter!

Good Friday

Good Friday was a vigil of a different sort for us. We took my mother-in-law to the airport for her first trip in quite a few years, and were waiting for her to get from the airport to her destination. All did not go smoothly - she got lost - but ultimately she got the help she needed and got there, in the middle of the night. So that was finally a relief.

I just walked out in the garden to look around yesterday. The symbolism of the new leaves on the rose bush amidst the thorns struck me, so even though it wasn't the best picture I took, this was "the picture" for the day.

Holy Thursday

I had decided where I would stop on my way to work...but traffic changed my mind. As soon as I got out of my car and started walking down one of the trails at Blackwell, I knew it was a good choice. Never mind photography, it was just good to walk in nature and listen to the birds (at least until the noise of the aforementioned traffic started drowning them out!). You have to look a bit closer at this photo, but the tree is covered with big buds. Most trees and shrubs still look pretty lifeless at a distance, but there's a lot going on!

This Lent has reminded me how much being out in nature "restores my soul". It also has helped me see that getting out in nature isn't something I need to reserve for special occasions (vacations or day trips) but rather, something I can fit in to 15 minutes or a half hour to going to and from work. What a blessing!

It's just about time to go to the Mass of the Lord's Supper. A friend who is being baptized at the Easter Vigil had his feet washed by Cardinal George earlier this evening! What a prelude to the sacraments...

Wednesday of Holy Week

A few days ago I was writing, and thought, "I'm not ready for Lent to end yet." Well, now I am - and a good thing, too, as we're almost there - roughly 24 hours to the Mass of the Lord's Supper and the start of the Triduum.

Tonight I wanted to go back to one of my regular destinations, Warrenville Grove. The goose caught my eye in the late afternoon sun. I was happy to find something fairly quickly, I admit - I was tired and ready to get home. But I'm happy I was there.

I have 42 photos in my "Lent 2009" collection - there were a few days when I liked more than one of my photos, which made up somewhat for the days I missed entirely. I will post them on my website after Lent is over.

Tuesday of Holy Week

It was sunny with a very cold wind today. These flowers didn't want to hold still to have their picture taken. At least there are flowers to see, now! Despite the snow night before last, spring is starting to take hold as Easter approaches.