What have I been doing?

It's been a little more than a week since my last post, and those of you who have been checking my blog have had your faithfulness tested.  What have I been doing this past week?

Well, I've put a fair amount of time into preparing to return to OLA.  I attended the Virtus recertification on Wednesday.  It was nice to see Frs. John Tran, John Bosco, and Peter O'Reilly.  Contrary to the impression you get from the LA Times and other media, the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese are serious, very serious, about the protection of our young people.  In addition, I've been in fairly regular contact with the parish office by phone and email, and am grateful for many parishioners and friends staying in touch by email and Facebook.

I'm well recovered from my prostatectomy on January 7.  The incision scar no longer looks too angry, and the inner stuff is relatively peaceful and seems to have almost forgiven me for letting this dude (sorry, Dr. Gazzaniga) mess around inside.  (BTW, Dr. Michael Gazzaniga is THE GREATEST, and I recommend him to any man who might need this sort of thing.  Memo to all men approaching their mature years, be sure to get your PSA checked regularly -- and the digital exam too.  And to any women who love them: nag them to do it!)

I'm planning to return to OLA next Tuesday, February 17, the memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Order of the Servants of Mary (Servites).  They staff two parishes in Orange Diocese, St. Juliana and St. Philip Benizi, both in Fullerton, and Servite High School, as well as the rather well known Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother in Portland, Oregon.  When I was Director of Campous Ministry for the Archdiocese in the early 1990s, I was privileged to get to know, and count as a good friend, one of the most renowned members of the Servite Order, Fr. Marty Jenco, who was for several years campus minister at USC, after his experience as a hostage in Lebanon.  Fellow hostage and journalist Terry Anderson, has established a foundation in his honor for "rewarding visionary leadership in Appalachia."  His book, Bound to Forgive: the Pilgrimage to Reconciliation of a Beirut Hostage is one I highly recommend.  Sadly out of print, but some Amazon sellers are offering it for $.01 plus $3.99 shipping.  GRAB IT!  My enduring recollection of Marty is that his repeated phrase, no matter what misfortune fell to him, was "Thank you, Jesus."

Well, I'm doing what I intended to in this blog, and that is write a lot, stream-of-conscious, maybe letting you into a bit my own consciousness and life-pilgrimage, simply sharing what I can along the way.  This past week I've put a lot of time into transferring my email address list from the parish email sever to my own Gmail account.  Everyone on it will get a message from me in a day or so, asking them to change my address in their book to thomas.welbers@gmail.com, along with a link to this blog and Facebook.  Yes, I'm preparing for my move from OLA (to a parish not yet determined -- I'm told it may be a month or more before the assignments are finalized and published) this coming summer.  I'd like to be able to stay in touch with anyone who wants to be stayed in touch with.  

Stay tuned . . .