Saying Goodbye

 In the Catholic church, our priests and deacons are moved around to different parishes. Yesterday we said goodbye to the Parochial Vicar, Fr. Trevor Lontine. It is always bitter-sweet when the time comes for the priests to move on. When Fr. Trevor arrived, three years ago, we marveled at his height, his youth, his beard, his way of preaching and wondered if we would like him. It did not take long to win parishioners over to love and admire him. Sometimes his homilies tended to be a bit long, yet he always had an educational lesson for us! And it was easy to look at him because he is a handsome young man!

 He genuinely loved everyone, especially the children who loved getting teased by him. Many times, I would see him get down on his knee to talk with children at eye level. He made me, and I am sure everyone, feel as if I was the most important person he had ever talked with and he was always ready to return a hug! Not only did he make me feel the love, but I am sure everyone he talked with felt the same way.

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, he had a going away party and it seemed as if everyone from the parish was there.  The many tables in the Spirit Center were filled to capacity. Those that couldn't find an empty seat sat on the floor, stood around or sat on the stage! We ate hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, and condiments of mustard, ketchup, lettuce, and tomato slices. Cookies were the dessert! The line saying goodbye to Fr. was long and seemed to never end. It must have made him know the love people had for him.  A suitcase with cards wishing him well was filling up fast! 

Fr. Trevor is headed to Rome, Italy for further studies. For approximately five years he will study Canon Law! I hope that when he visits Colorado that I will be able to see him and find out what he thinks of Rome and his studies!

Wishing him the best and may God continue to watch over him. Adios Padre Trevor!

A Perfect Sunday

I am always amazed at how I may have certain plans and God intervenes with a better plan! My thought was to drive to the Shrine of Mother Cabrini and attend the eleven o'clock mass. I left my home around ten, giving me plenty of time for a leisurely drive and visit with Mother Cabrini before mass.

When I thought I was on the correct highway to the shrine, imagine my surprise when I was surrounded by gigantic, lush, green mountains and instantly I knew I was on a wrong road. As many times as I have been on that highway which heads to the gambling casinos, I had never noticed the spectacular huge mountains. My heart expanded as I saw the beautiful mountains all around me. Curve after curve gave me an excited feeling at the beauty surrounding me. Why had I never noticed them before? I remembered when I was a little girl and my father would take us to the mountains through the Big Thompson Canyon. I had that same sensation of how big the mountains seemed to be.  As an adult I drove through the canyon and they were not as huge as I remembered.  Only God could have given me such a beautiful Sunday morning and I still had time to turn around and get on Highway 6 that would take me to the Shrine. 

Due to construction I had to take a detour and a roundabout way to the Shrine. I did not make the eleven o'clock mass but I enjoyed visiting the Cabrini Chapel, seeing the many visitors lighting candles and finding a parking spot across from the church for the 2 o'clock mass in Spanish. The day was hot but I sat in the air-conditioned souvenir room at a table and watched the many people and their children as they visited the shrine. I asked a worker for a sheet of paper so I could jot down my amazing morning as I waited over an hour for the mass to begin.

The renovated chapel is a peaceful place. When the priest entered, I did know him. When I worked at the Archdiocese I knew many priests, but this one I did not know. Tall, handsome, a thick head of pepper and salt colored hair, a large moustache and when he spoke, I could tell he had a sense of humor. I also realized that not using my Spanish, I was beginning to lose it. Many words he said, I did not understand. I knew enough to follow the mass but wished I had a Spanish dictionary to understand certain words. He thumbed through the red missal looking for what he needed to proceed with the mass. Back and forth he flipped through the pages, checked the table of contents and flipped more pages. I wondered if he would ever find what he needed! He did apologize for not being prepared. And then, at the part where he mentions the Pope he said, "Francisco" and immediately changed it to Leo. I wondered why he wasn't quite ready to celebrate mass!

Even with those oops moments, I thanked God for a wonderful Sunday that He planned for me!

Horse Palace

 I take a group of gamblers to Blackhawk and Central City but since Covid, the casinos stopped paying for the bus and I decided to retire because charging for us to pay for the bus was too time consuming. Then, when I thought I was retiring, the bus driver mentioned that near Cheyenne, Wyoming, there was a new casino that would pay for the bus. 

On Friday, June 13, 2025, forty-seven persons went to try out the Horse Palace Casino and the trip was a big success. We arrived in one and a half hours when we thought it would take two hours. We were greeted by Stephan and he had us checked in and ready to play the slots with $30 free play, and a free coffee and donut coupon from Dunken Donut! I liked that it is not a huge casino, and I could keep track of "my" gamblers. It seemed to me that there were a lot of winners ranging from $40 to $1300.  The bottom line was that everyone had fun and the majority said they would like to return to the casino.

The staff at the casino was helpful and attentive. Everything was clean and after someone moved from a machine there was someone to wipe it down. We learned that table games are illegal in Wyoming, so it's basically slots and horse racing on a screen!

A new date was scheduled for July 31, 2025, and we will see if we continue in the future!

Chatting With Those in Heaven

 Mother's Day is always a sad day for me because I lost my mother fifty-one years ago.  She was the one person who loved me unconditionally and thought I was perfect! Every year on Mother's Day I visit her at Mt. Olivet Cemetary and take her, her two sisters, my father, my son and my brother flowers and I have a chat with them.

Mom, I miss you, but I know that someday we will be reunited again. I have many memories, but memories are not the same as if you were here sharing your life with me. 

Dad, I wish you were here so you could tell me what you think of our world today.  What do think of the president who seems to lie a lot and honesty was always your number one virtue! Whether I agreed with you or not, I appreciated your thoughts, and I miss our arguments!

Andy, I think of you daily and so many things remind me of you. Even though you gave me problems I wish you were still around sharing your sense of humor! Sometimes you drove me crazy. but my love was always there for you.

David, you were a hard one to understand and I did not have the patience to deal with you. You lived in your own world. My Mom loved you so much and after she was gone, I tried to be there for you, but I know I failed many times. I am happy you are with Mom and Dad and you no longer have to deal with the problems you faced.

Lupe and Aurelia, you were two different acting people that I got to know when you visited my Mom. I never really understood you, but I tried to be there when you needed help.

My older brother is on the East Coast and he passed away a few years ago.

Today, my family is gone except for me, my daughter and her family in California, and my son's two children in Colorado and all my love is for them!