Saturday - Grotto Mass, Malade medals

It was easier to wake up Saturday morning. I think we are finally getting used to the time change over here. After a breakfast of crossants, meat, and cheese, we were headed to the Grotto for a Mass with the other U.S. Associations. One problem - heavy rain! So we all bundled up and headed down with blankets and umbrellas. Despite the rain and cold weather the Mass was beautiful. At the end, one of our members brought forward all of our prayer intentions. There were so many that he had to put them in a suitcase. You can probably tell from the picture that the suitcase is almost too full! All the prayers were put in the Grotto at the end of Mass.

After Mass, we went to the underground basilica so that the malades could be presented medals to remember their trip. The medals were presented by the Grand Master of the Order of Malta. It was an honor for all of us to see him and for him to present the medals. Miss Murphy got to sit near some of the children malades. We have a lot of children on our trip this year. It is both saddening but also joyful. These young ones all have a different illness they are battling, but you can tell from their faces that they still have a love of life, a joy in being around others, and a faithful spirit. Everyone here is touched by the life they bring to our trip.

The afternoon and evening were spent in different retreats. I had an auxiliary retreat where we all talked about our role on the trip and how we could best help all that were here. Miss Murphy and her mom each had separate retreats where they heard talks from different priests and then got to go to confession. I was so excited that Miss Murphy got to go to confession and she said she had a wonderful priest that spoke with her. We are all so lucky to be surrounded with so many priests who bring us the gifts of Jesus' forgiveness, the Eucharist, and all the other blessings. We continue to pray for everyone back home!