…children with baby Irish accents. This week we held the first class Mass for Kennedy Park school. Patrick and I worked with one of the fourth classes, teaching them about the parts of the Mass and letting them brainstorm intentions to pray for and gifts to offer during the preparation rite. These kids have a LOT they want to give to God, and 16 of the class of 28 ended up being gift-bearers (tanks for organizing that part, Patrick). Although a somewhat hectic project, and one with lots of unexpected questions, we found the Class Mass to be as rewarding an experience as was promised by last year’s crew. The teacher we worked with was unspeakably supportive, taking class time when we weren’t even there to practice the songs and readings with the kids. The kids all did a GREAT job, and the main church at Clonard was full of their families and friends, who were all proud to see their children taking such an active part in Mass.

And Katie and Dan arrived safely and have been in our cozy lil house since Tuesday. Having them around has been great fun, and as Carolyn promised us early in the year, it really does make a place feel like home when you get to host other people in it and show it off to them.

The other upside of having guests is that it has led to the compilation of Carolyn’s Greatest Hits album…except that the hits are recipes and the album is the menu for the week. She’s pulled out all our favorites, from the incomparable veggieburgers to Ann’s incredible chocolate cake, and, turns out, it REALLY makes a place feel like home when you get to share it with good friends over a plate of excellent eats.