St. Patrick's Parish

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I find the last week of June and the first week of July a special time of year.  I associate it with the blossoming of a particular tree – the northern catalpa (sidebar: catalpa is Cherokee for “tree”).   When I see the heavily scented blossoms hanging from this tree I know the school year has come to an end and the days of summer are upon us.  As I child I have fond memories of pulling the blossoms off the tree in our back yard and sucking the sweet nectar from the tubular base of the blossom.
Other than catalpa blossoms, it certainly was sweet to take in the in-person graduations last week.  After a three-year hiatus it was wonderful to celebrate these milestones with our youth.  It was sweet too to hear at the school next door excited voices of children saying their goodbyes to their teachers and classmates as they began their summer holidays. read more......