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Friday, February 23, 2024

Packed and Ready


 
As the first light of dawn broke over Omaha, the city was quiet, holding its breath as if in anticipation of the day's journey. Sister Mary Claire stood outside the old brick Fontenelle that had been their home, her face calm, reflecting a peace that surpassed all understanding. Beside her, Kathy clutched her suitcase—the one proudly bearing the 'NOTRE DAME' insignia—a symbol of dreams and aspirations yet to unfold.

Between them, Mini, her tongue lolling out in a pant that seemed to laugh at the cold, waited with a patience known only to dogs and the wise.

They were leaving Omaha, the place of quiet miracles and unspoken joys, embarking eastward on highways that were yet known only by numbers and not by the name it would carry into the future: Interstate 80.

Kathy looked up at Sister Mary Claire and whispered, "Do you think we'll see the works of the living God on our way?"

Sister Mary Claire smiled, recalling the Gospel they had read that morning, the words of Jesus to Simon Peter echoing in her heart, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father."

"Yes, Kathy. Just as Peter recognized Christ, we too shall see the hand of God in our travels. For He builds upon the rocks of our faith, and against such strength, not even the gates of the netherworld shall prevail."

With the suitcase and Minnie in tow, they stepped into their Chevy, the engine coming to life with a rumble that spoke of distances yet to cover. They were travelers, not just in the physical sense but also pilgrims of the spirit, seeking the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven in every mile they covered, in every person they met, in every challenge they faced.

And so, with the blessing of the Gospel in their hearts and the light of the early morning sun guiding their way, Sister Mary Claire, Kathy, and Mini set off. They drove through the waking city, through fields that stretched like oceans, through towns where steeples reached for the heavens as if in prayer.

They didn't know exactly what adventures awaited them as they traveled toward Des Moines, or the many stops along the way. But they knew that whatever they bound in their journey of love and service on earth would be bound in heaven, and whatever they loosed in forgiveness and kindness would be loosed in heaven.

This was the beginning of a journey not just across the American landscape but into the depths of faith—a journey of learning that every goodbye was not an end but a herald of new beginnings, under the watchful gaze of the living God.

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