21 FEBRUARY 2012 SHROVE TUESDAY. URAT ON SKYPE, SHROVE AND SISTER DANIELA!
Our URAT Meeting on Skype went through smoothly enough, with just a few glitches! Mirjam was Chair of the evening, while Imelda kept 'the show on the road'! Our agenda included seeing a draft of a poster designed by Mirjam. This is for use by Renate for Europe and will be made available, in all languages, prior to and during the Olympic Games. We also managed to complete arrangements for our Korce meeting. A change of date for our Tirana Cathedral Pre-Olympic Liturgy was also put in place so it was a worthwhile get-together indeed and finished comfortably in an hour.
Today is Shrove Tuesday and we have just enjoyed our traditional pancakes! Tomorrow, we plan to meet at the Church for the first day of Lent.
Our classes are continuing and, just now, details have come of Sister Daniela's proposed visit here at the end of next month, with Korce programmed in for early in April, please God.
As you read the end of this entry, you will see the mimosa mentioned last time as it was braving the snow! Now, thank God, tempratures have begun to rise, so hopefully, our streets near the house will return to normal soon.
With a little prayer that each one will have a great Lent!
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
MIMOSA, AMIRA'S VISA AND ST.GEORGE PREKA!
14 FEBRUARY 2012 MIMOSA, AMIRA'S VISA AND ST.GEORGE PREKA!
Today, Korce is ablaze with mimosa! Seems so strange here, where we have so much snow on the ground. It serves as a beautiful reminder to us that most of Albania is showing some signs of Spring, even though, officially, Spring starts here on March 1.
Amira was here for two days last week. She needed to re-apply for a Visa. I was glad to hear she is involved in cathechesis at the weekends and also works with families in need. I gathered most of these are from the villages near Tirana.
On Sunday, it was the Birthday of St.George Preka, Malta's first Saint. He was canonized just four years ago and he is Founder of the Society to which our friends belong. We went out for lunch to celebrate! Also, we were very happy to have Mass later in the day.
Just this afternoon, a friend, Violet, called and she shared with us about the hardship of the people living in the little mountain villages near us. Some of them have been cut off, because of snowbound roads. We have now had the ground covered for 54 days!! Apparently, the shops in these isolated villages did not anticipate the length of the freeze-up and many have been without stocks of food. Hopefully, this situation will be resolved soon.
Good health to each one of you at this time. I have already mentioned that tomorrow evening, we, URAT group, have our first SKYPE meeting. Hopefully it will go smoothly as it is saving us quite a journey! Enjoy the remainder of the week!
Today, Korce is ablaze with mimosa! Seems so strange here, where we have so much snow on the ground. It serves as a beautiful reminder to us that most of Albania is showing some signs of Spring, even though, officially, Spring starts here on March 1.
Amira was here for two days last week. She needed to re-apply for a Visa. I was glad to hear she is involved in cathechesis at the weekends and also works with families in need. I gathered most of these are from the villages near Tirana.
On Sunday, it was the Birthday of St.George Preka, Malta's first Saint. He was canonized just four years ago and he is Founder of the Society to which our friends belong. We went out for lunch to celebrate! Also, we were very happy to have Mass later in the day.
Just this afternoon, a friend, Violet, called and she shared with us about the hardship of the people living in the little mountain villages near us. Some of them have been cut off, because of snowbound roads. We have now had the ground covered for 54 days!! Apparently, the shops in these isolated villages did not anticipate the length of the freeze-up and many have been without stocks of food. Hopefully, this situation will be resolved soon.
Good health to each one of you at this time. I have already mentioned that tomorrow evening, we, URAT group, have our first SKYPE meeting. Hopefully it will go smoothly as it is saving us quite a journey! Enjoy the remainder of the week!
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
INTERFAITH CONFERENCE AND SHKODRA !
7 FEBRUARY 2012 INTERFAITH CONFERENCE AND SHKODRA!
Our cold weather continues, with snow showers or constant snow most days.....and the tempratures are dropping, so Spring is still quite theoretical!
Yesterday, a caller to our house brought an invitation to an Interfaith Conference being held today. This was part of an Interfaith Week organised by the Universal Peace Federation. I looked up the internet and saw there were services held in a long list of cities. In fact, we shared today with the United Nations, New York, where a similar service was held. A number of speakers took part in our Conference, which was held at Fan Noli University. I was sorry there was no formal representative from the Catholic community. We had an Orthodox priest and the majority who attended were Bektashi Muslims.
A Peace Corps. Volunteer came here to visit in the afternoon. Laurie has been to a Peace Corps. Meeting in Durres, which is near Tirana, and afterwards, she visited Shkodra. The very strong Catholic atmosphere plus the crowded church attendance at Sunday Mass really amazed her. I told her of our Church getting flooded and that we have moved underground, while awaiting repairs. The priest two weeks ago hinted we had a touch of the Catacombs about our present setup!
For Good Shepherd blog readers, tomorrow is a lovely feast, so, enjoy a special day!
Our cold weather continues, with snow showers or constant snow most days.....and the tempratures are dropping, so Spring is still quite theoretical!
Yesterday, a caller to our house brought an invitation to an Interfaith Conference being held today. This was part of an Interfaith Week organised by the Universal Peace Federation. I looked up the internet and saw there were services held in a long list of cities. In fact, we shared today with the United Nations, New York, where a similar service was held. A number of speakers took part in our Conference, which was held at Fan Noli University. I was sorry there was no formal representative from the Catholic community. We had an Orthodox priest and the majority who attended were Bektashi Muslims.
A Peace Corps. Volunteer came here to visit in the afternoon. Laurie has been to a Peace Corps. Meeting in Durres, which is near Tirana, and afterwards, she visited Shkodra. The very strong Catholic atmosphere plus the crowded church attendance at Sunday Mass really amazed her. I told her of our Church getting flooded and that we have moved underground, while awaiting repairs. The priest two weeks ago hinted we had a touch of the Catacombs about our present setup!
For Good Shepherd blog readers, tomorrow is a lovely feast, so, enjoy a special day!
Thursday, 2 February 2012
TECHNICAL HITCH AND DAY FOR RELIGIOUS .
2 FEBRUARY 2012 TECHNICAL HITCH AND DAY FOR RELIGIOUS.
This week has brought along a technical hitch that slowed down computer work and also added to it! Our cold snap continues, so, each step is taken with care, the snow gets renewed and we are resigned to beginning a seventh week, with snow underfoot, plus low tempratures. The only difference now is that the rest of Europe has joined the snowscene!
Today, we attended a meeting of Rligiious in Elbason. It was organised by our Bishop, Hil Kabashi. Lalini and I were most anxious to go, as we had not managed to attend meetings for some months, due to distant venues being used. We travelled with our Maltese friends and our journey took longer than usual, due to a blizzard and icy road cnditions. We arrived in Elbason in very good time for concelebrated Mass. Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch with five of Mother Teresa's Sisters who work in the area. Our homeward journey was one of truly magnificent scenery! At one point, road police advised us to have chains put on our minibus wheels and this was done speedily. They were needed too, especially on high ground.
Again,the weekend is almost here. I wish each one a happy and blessed few days.
This week has brought along a technical hitch that slowed down computer work and also added to it! Our cold snap continues, so, each step is taken with care, the snow gets renewed and we are resigned to beginning a seventh week, with snow underfoot, plus low tempratures. The only difference now is that the rest of Europe has joined the snowscene!
Today, we attended a meeting of Rligiious in Elbason. It was organised by our Bishop, Hil Kabashi. Lalini and I were most anxious to go, as we had not managed to attend meetings for some months, due to distant venues being used. We travelled with our Maltese friends and our journey took longer than usual, due to a blizzard and icy road cnditions. We arrived in Elbason in very good time for concelebrated Mass. Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch with five of Mother Teresa's Sisters who work in the area. Our homeward journey was one of truly magnificent scenery! At one point, road police advised us to have chains put on our minibus wheels and this was done speedily. They were needed too, especially on high ground.
Again,the weekend is almost here. I wish each one a happy and blessed few days.
Saturday, 28 January 2012
CHURCH FLOODING,WATER, SNOW AND PAUL!
28 JANUARY 2012 CHURCH FLOODING, WATER,SNOW AND PAUL !
On Sunday last, we arrived to find our little Church flooded. A radiator had burst, with drastic results! Literally, we got "all hands on deck" and we were able to have Mass, even in the still-damp Church.
A number of neighbours, friends, have been left for several days without water. We became a sort of informal "water station" for those days. We were glad to help and very happy that our own supply was intact throughout! All seems settled now, even though the snow refuses to melt. In fact, we got re-inforcements of fresh snow during the week!
On Tuesday, I was invited out for an evening "Farewell" meal for our friend, Maltese Laurence. My hostess telephoned, however, to say that she was en route to hospital in Tirana, with her mother who had suffered a broken hip. We decided that I would go ahead, with her daughter and her friend, so as not to spoil the evening. In fact we had a very enjoyable time - a fitting "Thank you" from two students. They were representatives of the many that Laurence had taught during his 13 years at Preca College. Father of one of the girls joined us towards the end of the meal. His conversation was most enlightening. When Laurence spoke of St. Paul's time in Malta, this man reflected on the fact that Paul also travelled the roads of Albania. In fact, he went north, almost as far as Dubrovnik. So, indeed, we are privileged to live in 'sacred space' here.
Have a good weekend. Maybe we will see some signs of Spring, with the coming of February!
On Sunday last, we arrived to find our little Church flooded. A radiator had burst, with drastic results! Literally, we got "all hands on deck" and we were able to have Mass, even in the still-damp Church.
A number of neighbours, friends, have been left for several days without water. We became a sort of informal "water station" for those days. We were glad to help and very happy that our own supply was intact throughout! All seems settled now, even though the snow refuses to melt. In fact, we got re-inforcements of fresh snow during the week!
On Tuesday, I was invited out for an evening "Farewell" meal for our friend, Maltese Laurence. My hostess telephoned, however, to say that she was en route to hospital in Tirana, with her mother who had suffered a broken hip. We decided that I would go ahead, with her daughter and her friend, so as not to spoil the evening. In fact we had a very enjoyable time - a fitting "Thank you" from two students. They were representatives of the many that Laurence had taught during his 13 years at Preca College. Father of one of the girls joined us towards the end of the meal. His conversation was most enlightening. When Laurence spoke of St. Paul's time in Malta, this man reflected on the fact that Paul also travelled the roads of Albania. In fact, he went north, almost as far as Dubrovnik. So, indeed, we are privileged to live in 'sacred space' here.
Have a good weekend. Maybe we will see some signs of Spring, with the coming of February!
Saturday, 21 January 2012
P.RIEKE, EVELYN,RIP, CHURCH UNITY, LAURENCE..
21 JANUARY 2012 P.RIEKE, EVELYN,RIP, CHURCH UNITY, LAURENCE.
A visit from P. Rieke, Germany, that had been postponed before Christmas, began on Monday, when Srs. Mirjam and Amira met him at the airport and drove him here. He was amazed to see Korce under a thick blanket of snow and very slippery everywhere! Later, Lalini and I walked with him to his hotel and I ventured down to walk with him here on Tuesday morning. His brief visit was really worthwhile.
Midweek, the sudden but not unexpected death, of Sister Evelyn Fitzsimons,CGS.RIP, came as a shock. We were good friends and I grieve for her. Some consoling lines, sent by Sister Brigid Lawlor a few days earlier, were really a source of support in this new moment of sorrow.
When chatting about Church Unity Week and regretting we do not mark it publicly here in Korce, Lalini suggested that we invite a few friends for a brief service. So, today right in the middle of the 18-25 special week, we did so. We invited fourteen that included Orthodox, Muslim, and Evangelical Protestant, as well as Catholic, We then shared an "Our Father" and sang the Taize - "Ubi Caritas" or, I should say the "Ku ka Dashuri" as it is in Shqip. Short but meaningful. Then we shared a coffee and, as we finished, we had a tiny farewell for Maltese Laurence. He returns to Malta next Saturday, after 13 years teaching here in Preca College. Again a Gaelic blessing, from our Province Christmas Card, expressed our thoughts, and it sounded well in both English and Shqip! -
"May God bless you and keep you
May God's face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May God give you the grace not to sell yourself short,
Grace to risk something big for something good,
Grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but the truth,
and too small for anything but love.
May God take your eyes and see through them
May God take your lips and speak through them
May God take your hands and work through them
May God take your heart and set it on fire."
Laurence was very appreciative and he was also delighted to receive a copy of Paulo Coelho's - "The Pilgrimage", as he begins his new journey in Malta.
I now extend this blessing to each one of you today!
A visit from P. Rieke, Germany, that had been postponed before Christmas, began on Monday, when Srs. Mirjam and Amira met him at the airport and drove him here. He was amazed to see Korce under a thick blanket of snow and very slippery everywhere! Later, Lalini and I walked with him to his hotel and I ventured down to walk with him here on Tuesday morning. His brief visit was really worthwhile.
Midweek, the sudden but not unexpected death, of Sister Evelyn Fitzsimons,CGS.RIP, came as a shock. We were good friends and I grieve for her. Some consoling lines, sent by Sister Brigid Lawlor a few days earlier, were really a source of support in this new moment of sorrow.
When chatting about Church Unity Week and regretting we do not mark it publicly here in Korce, Lalini suggested that we invite a few friends for a brief service. So, today right in the middle of the 18-25 special week, we did so. We invited fourteen that included Orthodox, Muslim, and Evangelical Protestant, as well as Catholic, We then shared an "Our Father" and sang the Taize - "Ubi Caritas" or, I should say the "Ku ka Dashuri" as it is in Shqip. Short but meaningful. Then we shared a coffee and, as we finished, we had a tiny farewell for Maltese Laurence. He returns to Malta next Saturday, after 13 years teaching here in Preca College. Again a Gaelic blessing, from our Province Christmas Card, expressed our thoughts, and it sounded well in both English and Shqip! -
"May God bless you and keep you
May God's face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May God give you the grace not to sell yourself short,
Grace to risk something big for something good,
Grace to remember that the world is now too dangerous for anything but the truth,
and too small for anything but love.
May God take your eyes and see through them
May God take your lips and speak through them
May God take your hands and work through them
May God take your heart and set it on fire."
Laurence was very appreciative and he was also delighted to receive a copy of Paulo Coelho's - "The Pilgrimage", as he begins his new journey in Malta.
I now extend this blessing to each one of you today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)