Dear Loved Ones,
Pleasant
Greetings from Sacramento, CA, USA! Happy
to be back to my California home after our 9-days (May 22 – 30) visit to New
Jersey/New York bonding with Sarah’s family. Actually, Sean MBA graduation.
CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF THEM! And Much Thanks GOD for all the Blessings and
safe journey! and I
visited them to attend MAX’s 1st Holy Communion and Sarah’s
On our SACCatholic Lunch
Club held at the Red Lion Woodlake Hotel on May 21, the guest speaker was Dr. Paul
O’reilly on the topic "The Wisdom of Genesis.", an examination of the
opening chapters of Genesis in light of commentaries by St. Augustine and St.
Thomas.
Now, perhaps
more than ever, Scripture is misunderstood, belittled, and even attacked by
believers and non-believers alike. The Book of Genesis is not immune to
criticism. It has been called everything from naive prattle to pernicious
writing; it has been described as merely myth, or the combination of different
cultural and ignorant traditions, rarely is it considered a book of great
wisdom. At least one reason for a failure to recognize the wisdom of Genesis is
a lack of understanding of the great Catholic tradition of serious biblical
commentary. Noteworthy among the great commentators are St. Augustine and St.
Thomas Aquinas.
In this talk,
Dr. O’Reilly, President of Thomas Aquinas College, explored how a look at
Genesis through the eyes of St. Augustine and St. Thomas reveals the depths of
meaning in the opening book of the Bible. It is crucial for Catholics to
understand, as St. John Paul II put it, “The word of God is not addressed to
any one people or to anyone period of history. Similarly, dogmatic statements,
while reflecting at times the culture of the people in which they were defined,
formulate an unchanging and ultimate truth.”
Highlight of the month was
our trip to New Jersey / NY (May 22 – 30) to attend the 1st Holy
Communion of our grandson MAX and Sarah’s MBA graduation. CONGRATULATIONS TO
BOTH OF THEM! Our friend Russel picked Sean and I from home 4:00AM for our
DELTA flight via Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Newark, NJ. After Sarah/Sean
picked us, we proceeded to have dinner at Nuonna’s Italian restaurant.
Itinerary of our visit:
May 23: Woke
up early to go shopping at NJ Gardens Outlets – Coach bags for Sarah and
myself, shoes for Sean and Max, dresses / shirts and others for Sarah, Sean,
and Max. They took advantage of the memorial sale and ‘no / lower sales tax’ in
NJ;
May 24: Big 1st Holy Communion day for
MAX; Special arrangement were made by Fr, Mark and St. Cassian church staff.
Sarah and Max did the offering and Max received the Eucharist first. After the
picture-taking with family and friends, we had lunch reception for 20 at
Matthew’s Italian Restaurant, 1131 Bloomfield Ave., Clifton, NJ 07012. The menu
was balanced and healthy (2 appetizers, 3 entrees, desert – fruits and cake,
drinks).
May 25: More shopping and lunch at MAX’s restaurant
in Newark, NJ, with take-outs from Red Ribbon;
May 26: Mail-drops at USPS; Mass at Immaculate Conception
Cathedral in Montreal, NJ; Lunch at Manny’s Café;
May 27: Dropped Sarah at train station, then Max at
his school at 7:30 AM, then Sean and I took the train at Bay St. to Penn
station in NY. From 32nd St./7th Ave., we walked to 37th
St. to give Sarah her car keys. From Sarah’s office, we walked to 45th/7th
Ave. to get tickets for the Broadway show ‘Kinky Boots’; After lunch, we
proceeded to 48th St./ 5th Ave. to attend noon Mass at
St. Patrick’s Cathedral; then went back to 45th St. / 8th
Ave. for the Kinky Boots show at 2PM-5PM. BTW, we got best seats (row 5 /
middle orchestra); in between we hang out at the Marriot Hotel/Starbucks for
convenience; We arrived Montclair at 8pm raining;
May 28-29: Dropped Sarah for work and Max at
school, picked him up at 2pm; then we treated him for lunch at Marzullo’s
Italian restaurant where he finished his order of Spaghetti with meatballs and
chocolate mousse; enjoyed our bonding moments; likewise, did Costco shopping to
maximize the lower sales tax; Sarah treated us to sumptuous dinner at Fricasse
French bistro with Eric;
May 30: Sarah and Max dropped us off at Newark
airport for our DELTA flight back to SAC, CA; With 2-hours lay-over at MSP, we
strolled around the Mall inside the huge airport. We arrived SAC airport,
picked up by Russel, then arrived home by 11PM. MUCH THANKS GOD for the
wonderful bonding with MAX and Sarah!
·
Movie watched: Pitch Perfect 2; Books
read: Golf and GOD and You can Change by Fr. Cedric Pesigna, CP;
Attached are 4 photos with
family and friends. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. Peace
and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!
Much love and Best Regards!!!
SUSAN BG
