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Email a FriendPosted by jUDY on Monday, Jul 18, 2011 9:52 AM (EDT):
Yet another great post, Danielle! Thank you! We look forward to our next Faith and Family. They are always a joy!
Fly Away Summer
Faith & Family Summer 2011
by Danielle Bean in News on Sunday, July 17, 2011 12:00 PM
Kateri with her feathered friend
[This is my editor’s note from the Summer 2011 issue of Faith & Family magazine. If you are a subscriber and haven’t yet received your copy, it will be arriving soon. If you are not a subscriber ... let’s fix that today!]
Early one morning a few weeks ago, I heard an earnest rapping at the front door. I wasn’t expecting company, so I figured one of the kids must have locked himself out of the house. I opened the door quickly and was startled to find my oldest daughter, Kateri, standing on the front deck, with a white bird in her hands.
“I caught a bird!” she told me breathlessly.
It was more like the bird caught her. The small white pigeon had swooped down near her as she worked in the yard, caring for the hens in our chicken coop. She had tried to shoo it away, she explained, but it had insisted upon following her.
Upon further examination, we found that my daughter’s prize catch was a banded pigeon. The kind that is supposed to know its way home. But this one did not appear to.
We took pity on the lost creature, placed him in a spare cage, and fed him popcorn kernels (Google told us to). When we researched the numbers on his band, we learned that he belonged to a young woman a few towns away who raises pigeons and rents them for release at weddings and graduations. After a few days, when our attempts to call her failed, and the room where the bird was caged began to smell a little ripe, I crushed Kateri with the news that her feathered friend would have to go.
Reluctantly, she took him outside and threw him into the air. He flew around the house for a little while before taking off for new adventures. Watching the pretty white bird disappear into a bright blue sky reminded me of fleeting pleasures of summer. Here in New Hampshire, the season for day trips to the beach, family cook outs, and warm weather hikes is a short one, and we do our best to make the most of it.
That is why I was grateful to read Diane M. Calvin’s “Kids and Creation” (page 31) that offers family-friendly ways to make the most of the outdoors, and this issue’s Insider which features fitness products that make outdoor fitness fun and easy (page 22). Summer-loving readers will also want to check out Elizabeth Foss’s “What’s Cooking” feature (page 68) that includes tips and recipes for enjoying the fresh flavors of summer at your local farmer’s market.
This summer issue is going places, too. This August, thousands of young Catholics will travel to Madrid for World Youth Day 2011. Three young Catholics share their World Youth Day plans with us (page 55), but these pilgrims aren’t the only ones combining faith and travel this summer. Three newlywed couples inspire us with stories of their creative honeymoon pilgrimages (page 62), and in our “Taste of Spain” travel guide (page 85), Mountain Butorac (founder of TheCatholicTraveler.com) takes us on an Catholic tour of Spain, with insider travel tips and must-see sights. Even those of us who can’t squeeze a European vacation into our budgets or schedules this summer can travel vicariously through Mountain’s beautiful descriptions of the cathedrals and historical sites in Spain. No passport required!
We haven’t forgotten to feed our souls this summer, either. We have a sneak peek at upcoming changes to the Missal (page 37), a look at how music can enhance our spiritual lives (page 46), and encouraging stories of couples who have leaned on God and triumphed over the demons of addiction (page 24) and depression (page 74).
Whatever feeds your mind, body, and soul this summer, I hope that you and your family will do all that you can to make the most of this season’s fleeting pleasures while they last. Let’s remember to give thanks a we enjoy the summertime blessings of sunny skies, warm weather, and cool drinks in the shade. It won’t be long before they fly away.
Danielle Bean, Editor
Comments
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Posted by Lisa Schmidt on Monday, Jul 18, 2011 11:12 AM (EDT):
How exciting that Mountain (The Catholic Traveler) has a feature in this issue! My husband and I (and 30+ other pilgrims) recently traveled to Rome, Greece, and Turkey with him (including the Mass for BJP2’s Beatification). He was a wonderful guide and has now become a friend. Glad to see him featured here. Can’t wait to read the entire issue.
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