Santa Barbara, Ora Pro Nobis
Saint Bonaventure, Pray For Us
San Juan Capistrano, Ora Pro Nobis
The Bells Keep On Ringin Our the Praise of the Lord!
Is this something from Middle Earth?
Oceans and Seas, Bless the Lord!
On the steps of the Queen of the Missions, Mission Santa Barbara, you see the four of us along with faithful Fr. Joseph pose for a quick pic before going into the Mission! As you may note, we were quite excited!!
The brief tour of Mission Santa Barbara provided much wonderful history about his beautiful mission. Sr. Marie Andre and Fr. Joseph are seen here taking it all in!
We all noted, upon leaving this tiny mission, how wonderful it was to feel the 'Franciscan heritage' so strongly and tangibly. Here we are seen taking a tour of their small muesum.
Fr. Joseph and the Nuns are seen here with Fr. Art, the gracious rector of the Mission Bascilica. Providentially we ran into him in the parking lot and he took us around, showing us the IMPRESSIVE grounds of this awesome Mission.
A happy Sr. Mary Fidelis is seen here with the Bell tower in the background. The whole Mission is permeated in the Franciscan joy and monastic taste. It was wonderful for us to soak it all in.
Here is a shot of the ruins of the original chapel. It is spectacular to see.
Sr. Marie St. Paul is seen here in front of a impressive display of mission bells. We all said how ardently we wanted something simliar to this in our new Monastery...so that for miles around people would hear them chiming and think of our Father in Heaven
Fr. Joseph led the way as we toured every nook and cranny of the Mission, taking in every detail and begging the Lord to soon be able to build something similar on our own mountain top solitude!
For all of us who love J.R.R. Tolkiens books: The Lord of the Rings, we see the resemblance to Treebeard. Could that be a hobbit nun?
Mission San Diego was a place of much grace for all of us. Perhaps of all the Missions, we had the most time to 'settle down and pray' in the little Mission Chapel. Our few days there were filled with much joy, contentment and fervent prayer.
Fr. Joseph and the Phoenix Phive enjoy some relaxing time on the Pacific Coast. Surely the six of us attracted much attention in our full habits as we merrily walked the beaches of California...praying, laughing, and enjoying God's marvelous creation.
Our pilgrimage having come to an end, we took one last walk on the beach before heading back to Arizona to begin the arduous work of starting this foundation...Emboldened with much grace, we longed to get back to 'our' desert oasis in Arizona...for it truly is Home!
