All Souls

One of the tricky things about All Souls' Day is that there are so many choices for the readings, you never know which ones will be used at Mass! Since in general I coordinate my meditation with the Liturgy of the Word, it's a bit of a toss-up today. Still, a beautiful day to remember and pray for the departed. I am especially thinking today of those who lost their lives in Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. When my godmother called me for my birthday, one of the things she mentioned is that she knew so many of the elderly who had died. (My godmother, who would not consider herself "elderly" at all, has many, many friends, and was a regular visitor and volunteer at the Chateau Notre Dame, which was severely damaged by flooding.) I am praying for Shirley Richard, our "Miss Shirley," who died about ten days after being evacuated. It was "transfer trauma" that hastened her move from these shore to the eternal ones.

 

I had class this morning, and after lunch I finished baking a second batch of "purgatory cookies," this time putting an extra egg in the dough. It came a little closer to the "dolci dei morti" that I had in Italy, but it still resembles an almond Christmas cookie a bit more. Oh, well! The choir members will have to be satisfied with a remote approximation. The flavor is right, at any rate!