After beginning our day in such a blessed manner, we headed out. We always start our day in the car with a family rosary (except for special occasions...there will be one in a few posts) so, having that finished, the kids watched something kid-like (I think Shawn the Sheep...it makes Mr. G belly laugh and that always helps the miles pass quickly). While they were otherwise occupied, I was able to spend hours talking to my beloved. That is one of my very favorite perks of a pilgrimage...catching up with one another.
Our first stop (and first Holy Door!) was in Cincinnati, at the Monastery of St. Clare. I knew, as soon as I saw the listing, we needed to make the trip. Traveling with our own little Clare, it always pulls her into the discussion in a most pleasing way.
When we drove through the woods to our destination it was one of those "wow, I need to come here on retreat" experiences. Quiet, holy, blessed. We met Sister Doris working in the garden and she took us around the complex; explaining, questioning, experiencing. Perfect. She also told us that, when the nuns originally moved in, this was
farmland! Each year, the seminarian class from the neighboring Franciscan order, planted a new set of trees. What an amazing work of man, blessed by God. The whole place is breathtaking. St. Francis would be pleased :0)
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| This and the picture below are from their website |
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| The Holy Door led here, to their chapel. All of the wood furniture was carved by a Franciscan brother out of the trees in the forest! |
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| Sweet girl with her Patron :0) |
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| The Holy Door (it was in a very narrow space...) |
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| They found an earthworm in Sr. Doris's garden |
After prayers and goodbyes we were headed South...we arrived in Louisville, after rain and many miles, just in time for dinner (thank you, Drury Inn!)
God was kind enough to end the rain just as we ended our dinner so we headed back out. The
Cathedral of the Assumption was a beautiful building and we would have loved to go inside but, like many churches outside of our area, it was buttoned up tight, even at 6 PM (we are blessed to have space open to pray morning and evening!). We checked out the Holy Door, found a new nun to research and headed to our last stop of the evening.
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| DH was not a fan of the non-traditional Holy Door ;0) |
The last stop was very nearby and easy to find...just look for the giant bat!
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| So funny |
The Louisville Slugger museum was also closed but there was plenty of fun to be had outside, including a "base" celebrating a very famous Pirate. Let's go Bucs!
A very long, blessed day. Home to bed and up early to begin day two of our adventure!
We are blessed.
UPDATE
I forgot about the journey back to the hotel...we actually stopped at another Holy Door, this one at Holy Trinity good prep for this Sunday :0)
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| The Holy Door was open (yay) but the church was closed :0( |
This is so neat. We really want our children to have some exposure to various religious orders, and I feel like it can be hard to come by around here. Was this trip planned as a pilgrimage of sorts?
ReplyDeleteIt was intended as a Holy Door pilgrimage but, in doing that, we almost always run into a nun or two ;0) I try to contact a few parishes along the way on our trips and have always been pleasantly surprised at the welcome reception of the priests/sisters involved.
DeleteMaranatha vbs at St. Richard's in June is a wonderful experience to meet a new order each year!