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 1^st 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 1^st 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 32^nd St./7^th Ave., we walked to 37^th St. to give Sarah her car keys. From Sarah’s office, we walked to 45^th/7^th Ave. to get tickets for the Broadway show ‘Kinky Boots’; After lunch, we proceeded to 48^th St./ 5^th Ave. to attend noon Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral; then went back to 45^th St. / 8^th 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