First High Mass at St. Damien of Molokai, Sunday, October 3, 2010

After a glorious celebration on Friday evening, we were privileged to attend our first High Mass on Sunday, October 3.  The choir was simply beyond words; the pews were full of wonderful Catholic Christians; Christ was present in the Holy Eucharist .  .  . a day to remember. 

 Our friend, Terry, was interviewed by Channel 9.  Terry is a humble Catholic Christian . . . the way we all ought to be. 

 The family on the left, Matt, Cathy, Suzanne, and William (the young man in the blue shirt in front) are friends from Fredericksburg, Texas.  They love the Traditional Latin Mass, and come visit St. Damien often.  A fabulous family.  The other family, Terry, Lisa, and Patrick, are the kindest, most decent family you will ever meet.  They are wonderful.  We cherish their friendship.

Here we are, celebrating our first High Mass at our new Church, and celebrating Brycie's birthday.  What a day!!!

Consecration of the Altar and Blessing of St. Damien Catholic Church - October 1, 2010

On Friday evening, October 1, 2010, Archbishop Eusebius Beltran blessed our new Church, St. Damien of Molokai.  Many priests from the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) came to Oklahoma City to participate in the blessing of St. Damien and the consecration of the altar.  The sanctuary was packed with parishioners and friends.  What a joyous occasion.  Later in the evening, Fr. Remski celebrated the first Mass.  We thank you, Jesus.

 Welcome to St. Damien of Molokai.

 Isn't the altar magnificent?

 We waited outside for Archbishop Beltran.

 St. Damien is so blessed with many young acolytes who, by the way, participate during Mass in Latin.  It is wonderful. 

 Archbishop Beltran kneeling before the altar.

 We are so grateful for Archbishop Beltran's support of our new Church, and we appreciated his kind remarks.

 Archbishop Beltran descending from the altar.

 The young men are so reverent.

 The priest with the dark glasses will be our new priest beginning on October 31.  He is Fr. Carlos Casavantes, FSSP.  Fr. Howard Remski (back left) has been our priest for six years and is being reassigned to Sarasota, FL.  Thank you for your priestly service, Fr. Remski.

The sun sets on a beautiful evening and a wonderful occasion.

Assembling the Marble Altar

St. Damien Catholic Church has been blessed to be the recipient of the interior furnishings of St. Michael's Catholic Church in Amsterdam, New York.  The pastor and parishoners donated the marble altar, the retablo with side altars, statutes, stained glass windows, pews and light fixtures.  The entire altar weighs approximately 4,000 pounds.  Men from the parish gathered on September 27, 2010, to assemble the altar.  Our present building will contain only the altar, some of the pews, and the holy water fonts.  When the funds are raised, we will be building a permanent church which will be adorned by all the furnishings so graciously donated. Our present building will then become our parish hall.

Thank you, Jesus for our beautiful new church.  St. Damien, ora pro nobis!!

The Building of St. Damien Catholic Church

For some time we have felt drawn toward the Tridentine form of the Catholic Mass.  We most appreciate the quiet reverence of the Latin Mass and the respect parishioners show for our Lord and for the dignity of the human person by dressing modestly.  The ladies and girls wear veils in the presence of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.   

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI, in his "Motu Proprio data," "Summorum Pontificum," promoted the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970.  This is known as the Traditional Latin Mass.  We began attending St. Michael Chapel in February, 2010, which is a privately owned chapel leased by the FSSP (Fraternity of St. Peter).  The congregation had been raising funds to build a new Church.  The Archbishop, Eusebius Beltran, gave our Church the name St. Damien of Molokai.  St. Damien was canonized in 2009.  To learn more about St. Damien, go to http://www.stdamiens.org/02stdamienbiography.html.  Below is a photographic journey of the building of St. Damien of Molokai Catholic Church located just west of Council Road on 234th Street/Sorghum Mill Road in Edmond, Oklahoma.   

March 21, 2010



 March 26, 2010

 March 30, 2010

 April 2, 2010

 April 9, 2010

 April 13, 2010

 May 2, 2010

 May 9, 2010

 May 22, 2010

 June 4, 2010

 June 20, 2010

 August 15, 2010

 August 22, 2010

 August 22, 2010

September 19, 2010

Hutson is now a soccer player.

Hutson has been so excited the past few weeks because he signed up to play soccer for Villa Teresa 4th Grade.  Last night was his first practice, and today was their first game.  Villa Teresa Catholic School 4th Graders played Rosary Catholic School 4th Graders.  The game ended in a tie (1 to 1).  Hutson told us he played some sort of unorganized kick ball in China.  He has no inkling what the rules are except to kick it "that-a-way" and don't let the other team kick it "this-a-way."  Actually, that seemed to be enough information for him.  He did a wonderful job, and, it appears that he is very athletic.  He is fast; he is quick; he has good savvy.  All he needs to do is watch his teammates and listen to his coach (which, of course, means understanding English).  Actually, he understands a lot of English and is learning more each day. 

Hutson - soccer player

 (By the way, he will get a smaller jersey before the next match)

Villa Teresa's school principal, Sister Veronica, is such a fan.

She thoroughly enjoyed the morning.

In fact, she was ready to play if the team ran short of players.

Watch out, girl, here comes Hutson.

(Or, maybe it should be - Watch out, Hutson, here comes girl)

Looks pretty skilled, huh?

Headed west.

End of the game.

Team photo.  Yay, Hutson; Yay, Villa Teresa.

Mui and Portia

We had another "skype" visit with Mui last week.  We also got to see and talk to sweet little Portia.  It's tough to get a good quality photograph of the computer screen, but we did our best.  Here are two of the most precious ladies on the planet.  We love you.

Sunset, September 1, 2010

Sorry we haven't posted in a while.  With school now underway, our evenings go like this:  Get home from work and school . . . have dinner . . . do homework . . . kids go to bed . . . Brycie and Jim chill out . . . then, we do the same the next day.  Weekends fly by at the speed of light.  But we love every minute of it.  Thank you Jesus.  With Fall just around the corner our Oklahoma sunsets become spectacular.  Enjoy!

Mui - Sister and Friend

In late 2008, just before going to China to get Clare, Amy Eldridge (Love Without Boundaries), gave us the name of a precious lady in China who would take us to Clare's orphanage and show us around.  We had no idea at that time what an angel Mui would turn out to be.  She swept us into her arms and became our instant friend and Brycie's sister.  She introduced us to her darling little daughter, Portia, who adores Auntie Brycie.  We continued to stay in touch with Mui after we came home with Clare, just because we love her.  Then, this past May, when Brycie went to China to get Hutson, she and Hutson made a special trip to Shantou to see Mui and Portia.  They wound up spending the night in Mui's home, and got to meet her parents and brother.  Now, thanks to Skype, we are able to talk to Mui (and see her) as often as we like, which is quite regularly.  Here are some photos of us talking to Mui on Skype.  We love you, Mui and Portia.

You can just see the love in her eyes . . .

. . . and in her wonderful smile

A precious lady.

We love you.

A New Picture of Immaculée

We just received this new picture of our little darling yesterday.  Please come home soon, sweet angel.  Love,  Mama & Daddy

Auntie Di

This is our dear friend Diane (Clare and Hutson call her Auntie Di).  She is the owner of a wonderful shop of the most beautiful sacred and religious art you will ever find.  She is a precious Catholic woman and we feel honored to call her our friend.  Thank you, Auntie Di, for your witness.  We love you.

Diane holding a beautiful crucifix which she and her daughter purchased in Bratislava Slovakia a few years ago.  We just purchased this fabulous crucifix to grace our home.

Brycie, Clare, and Auntie Di

Brycie, Clare, Hutson, and Auntie Di

Thanks, Diane, for your friendship