{SQT}: Friars, Abbeys, Nuns

I’m joining Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes.

How amazing is this clip? 

Thanks to UCatholic for this!  Sulmona at Easter is now on my bucket list! I think I need to go live in Europe for a year so I can start scratching things off.

To see the story behind this video, click here.

Speaking of UCatholic, on their blog they had pictures of monks returning to an abbey that was destroyed by Henry VIII. I thought it might have been the one my husband & I visited, but it wasn't. That one was a "newer" one. Best travel advice: find friends who live in the area. They'll take you to those places that are "off the beaten track". This was much better than Stonehenge and, as our friend said, a lot less crowded!

This is Waverley Abbey, established in 1128 (the first Cistercian Abbey in England) and dismantled in 1536.

Friars seem to be everywhere lately! They seem to be just your average guys who just happen to be friars! 

Music isn't your "thing"? Maybe a little basketball instead?

I must have watched that video a hundred times...it just doesn't get old! My favorite spot is right around 2:57.

Then, there are the Friars on Foot. One of the friars is a Tennessee boy! 2 friars walked from New Orleans to Memphis...in June. If you're not from the south, or have never been to the south in the summer, you just can't even begin to imagine how hot & humid the deep south can be. And these 2 did it with their robes!

I read about the Passionist Nuns, who are cloistered nuns in Kentucky. Their vocation is to hand-bake bread used for communion hosts in the Covington, Ky. diocese. One of the nuns is 94 years old! In this digital age, I fear that religious orders are in danger of extinction. 

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago. This is unfiltered; an original shot. I just happened to have my camera with me after morning mass.

Since my mother's unexpected death 2 years ago, cardinals have been of great comfort to me. In case you've never heard, they are a sign that someone in heaven is thinking about you. This one was chirping incessantly one day. I got up and looked outside the door to see this:

Isn't she a beauty?

Another week down, another week closer to going back to work. Summer just goes by way too quickly!