"Whatever, your mum works at Mackers"

This past Friday was the last day of SCENE. I went in the morning to the cathedral with Lauren, where the catechesis session was given by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, an American Jesuit who I'm told appears quite frequently on EWTN. His talk was quite good, especially regarding some points about the seriousness of sin and the power of the resurrection, and he was even better during the question and answer period. The catechesis was followed by Mass (cold) and then we went to a nearby mall/shopping center type place for lunch - I had a delicious mango and raspberry smoothie. Delicious. Afterward, I explored the Australian Hyde Park for a bit and then took a free tour of St. Mary's Cathedral, which I greatly enjoyed, because I love tours. I learned a bit about the missionary priests who first brought Catholicism to Australia and got to take a closer look at some of the architecture. One of the best known features of this cathedral is the floor of the crypt, which is a mosaic showing the different stages of creation. It was quite beautiful. The church is made entirely of sandstone, which crumbles quite easily apparently, and they have to spend about $2million each year just to maintain it!

In the afternoon, I went to a workshop for SCENE that Jessica was participating in about Sydney's 40 Days for Life campaign this past Lent, which was quite successful. From Ash Wednesday until Palm Sunday, volunteers prayed in front of an abortion clinic in central Sydney. During the evenings, they moved from the street to an adoration chapel that had been set up ina flat above the clinic that just happened to be rented by a 40 Days for Life volunteer. The city responded very positively to the campaign, and the business at this clinic has been significantly reduced since then. The stories that Jessica and the leader of the campaign shared were really inspiring. I hope I can learn more about this before next Lent, especially since it was started in the United States.

In the evening, I went out for a quick dinner at a local restaurant (delicious gnocchi) and then to a talk that the aforementioned Fr. Mitch Pacwa was giving at a nearby church about the Freemasons. This talk was really interesting, especially because I knew very little about them beforehand.

Saturday and Sunday were sort of restful lazy days around here - we've all had a long week. On Saturday, Jessica and Lauren took me on a walk to a half indoor-half outdoor shopping mall in the afternoon. In the evening, we went to 6pm Mass and then Catholic Underground at the cathedral, an event that was started in the US, I think by the CFRs. The first part of it was almost exactly like Prayer and Praise at PC - adoration in the cathedral accompanied by music provided by the friars' band, which was nice. As usual, both were freezing. The second part was a concert in the gym of Cathedral College, the high school attached to the cathedral (literally). Unfortunately, the music here was not exactly stellar, but it was still interesting to attend. I spent a bit of time chatting with some Jessica and Lauren's friends who I have come to know relatively well, as well as Fr. Vincent, which was entertaining to say the least. Fr. Vincent, inexplicably, was using his cappa to pretend to be a vampire, I learned that the awkward turtle is an international phenomenon, and I learned an Australian put down - "Whatever, your mum works at Mackers." This is accompanied by making alternating M's and W's with your fingers. (Mackers is what they call McDonalds) Somehow, I don't think I'll be making that one a regular part of my vocabulary.

Sunday was another relaxing day. We went for a drive to North Sydney (I finally got to see the Opera House and go over the Harbour Bridge on the way) to go to Jessica's soccer game. The field was on the water and it was sunny and warm; it would have been an idyllic afternoon if her team hadn't lost on a questionable goal scored off a handball, but I digress. In the evening, I ventured out to see Knight and Day with Lauren, as Jessica had to attend a going away party for a friend; it was quite amusing. We were forced to pay extra to see this movie on "X-treme Screen" which I thought was rather outrageous until I learned that X-treme screen involved seats that were rather like small LaZBoy recliners. So worth it.

The week ahead should be rather busy - there's Theology on Tap tomorrow night, Orientation at Notre Dame, and I'll be heading into the Sydney Uni chaplaincy for the first time!