Back in Black. And Blue.

No, AC/DC is not the playlist of the day. And I’m not covered in bruises. Black & Blue are the colors of my walking clothes and I got to wear them again today!

I see lots of sunrises here. They’re nice.

Those keeping up with my journey on here know that I decided to walk a marathon on Monday. It was not the smartest thing I’ve done this week. I got a couple of blisters and hurt my foot while trying to avoid walking on the blisters. I was worried that I’d really don’t some damage, but it seems like the worry was unwarranted. I walk a normal day of 14 or so miles Tuesday and decided to cut that back to walking only 6 Wednesday. On Thursday I decided to take a taxi about 40km (and one mountain) forward to a place of relatively level ground and rest completely for the day. It seems to have done me good because I hit the trail again this morning and got 14 miles in and had a bit of discomfort but no serious pain. Thank you all for the prayers!

The day off yesterday was a good one. I got to write in my journal and get caught up on that so I could have a good account of where I was and things I saw. I enjoyed what is probably the best meal I’ve had on the Camino so far. A little bar restaurant near my albergue had some sort of veal steak on the menu that looked appetizing. So I ordered a pint of beer, a steak (medium rare, of course), some fries, and some sautéed bell peppers. And something that they called ‘French toast’ for dessert that was absolutely incredible. I just sat there reading book and enjoying the incredible meal all the while sitting next to the cathedral. I was also blessed to get into the cathedral to pray for a while and even got to walk through the Holy Door there. It turns out the town where we were staying (Santo Domingo de la Calzada) is named after a Saint who was born in 1019, so they’re celebrating the millennial anniversary with a Holy Year. Plenary Indulgence? Yes, please! Also, Santo Domingo has an interesting story about him and some chickens; might be worth a google search. 🐔

Today has been really cool, almost cold. It was really windy and at midday is finally getting into the 60’s. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ll never complain about that kind of weather! Little signs of God’s love. It’s about time to get my clothes cleaned up and to get some food & drink in this body of mine to prep for tomorrow.

There are lots of sunflower fields here and sometimes people make smiley faces or ‘write’ their initials by removing the seeds. I saw this flower and thought ‘hey, that’s me!’ 😀

Resting with Our Lord

I arrived here in Combermere, Ontario at the Madonna House last Friday (First Friday!) on the feast of St. Peter Julian Eymard, a great lover of the Eucharist. I’m staying at the Vianney House, a retreat house for priests here at Madonna House, along with a rotating group of men from the local diocese and other countries. They are all here for the same reason I am - to come away for a while to rest with Our Lord in this beautiful place dedicated to Our Lady. At all hours of the day the chapel here is occupied by men offering Holy Mass, praying their breviary, reading spiritual reading, or simply sitting in silence with the Lord. It is encouraging to see.

In addition to my time spent in the chapel, it has been a great joy to experience the cool weather and beautiful nature here in the Madawaska Valley. Sitting outside on the little porch of the retreat house, I am able to enjoy a nice cup of hot tea while watching chipmunks and what I think was a groundhog amble around the yard enjoying their meal times. My mind is still caught up in many things with the parish administration and I still have a few things left to do before I can really let myself enter into this sabbatical, but these gifts of community, nature, and the extra time with Our Lord are a salve to my soul.

In addition to these graces, I was able to celebrate the feast of St. Jean Vianney tonight by offering Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form with a relic of the Curé on the altar. Lord, it is good that we are here.

Coat of Arms

Explanation of the Coat of Arms

of Fr. Brent Maher

The blazon of arms is marked by five main components on a silver shield. The central part is the Saltire - the cross in Murrey, a reddish-purple color to recall the Precious Blood of Christ. At the top of the shield is the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Murrey with a crown of thorns and a flame in Or, a shade of gold. The left side of the shield, from the vantage of the front, is the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Murrey with the crown of roses, the sword of sorrow, and, a flame in Or. Opposite this is the Most Pure Heart of St. Joseph in Murrey with a crown of lilies and a flame of Or. The bottom of the shield features an anchor in Murrey with a wood shank in Or. This symbol is an ancient symbol of hope, but doubles for me as a symbol of my patroness, Saint Philomena. The parchment scroll below the shield is marked with my personal motto, Ecce Venio, about which I have written on the home page of the site. The blazon of arms and parchment are crowned with the traditional clerical saturno, a black hat worn by many priests. The single cord coming down each side indicates that I am a simple parish priest with no special rank or title (thanks be to God!). And because sometimes the Lord allows things to happen in such a way that there are hidden components we had not planned in the midst of our labors that appear to us only later - there seems to be a cat smiling at one if they look at it right. That’s right. I, who have been dubbed ‘the cat priest’ by many friends accidentally wound up having a cat’s face in the shield of my coat of arms: the hearts of Mary and Joseph being the eyes, the anchor being the mouth, and the saltire making a nice outline to form the ears at the top. Touché, Lord.

Thank you to Mr. David P. Burkart for his heraldic guidance and artistry in advising and creating these arms. I would highly recommend him for others considering having arms drawn up for themselves.