An Explanation of the Mass

Bottom line: the Mass is a sacrifice.

The Mass is not predominately a bible study; it is a sacrifice. At Mass, just as in the Old Testament, worshiping God is performed through a sacrifice. In the Old Testament an animal was sacrificed on the altar to God. In many Jewish rites, that animal was then eaten in a communal meal by all to forge a covenant between God and His people. An example is Passover. The lamb was sacrificed, eaten, and then, true to God’s covenant, the first born son of those participating in the Passover was saved.

sacrifice -- communal meal -- covenant union

The sacrifice being re-presented (not represented) on the altar at Mass is Jesus. But, just as at the Last Supper, Jesus is in the form of bread and wine. Jesus is the new Passover Lamb re-presented in a bloodless sacrifice. We communally eat the meal. And remain in covenant union; the promise that God makes with humanity that He will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him.

NY Trippin' - Washington D.C. -Finally!!

August 4, 2012

Ok, so I've been back from our driving sojourn for a few days now, and haven't blogged any yet. Getting back home means unpacking, washing, putting away, catching up..... My selfish intention for this blog was to keep in mind all the wonderful happenings along our trip that go along with or are in addition to the photos we've taken. So-if you know me at all you know I better get blogging before I lose the memories all together!!  :)

So. Last post was still Pennsylvania. After nourishing ourselves at Jennie's Diner, with a quick look over our shoulder at Lavender Larry's lavender and white tractor rig (why lavender?? I can't help but wonder), we're off toward our nation's capital.

Janet has a friend, Meagan, who lives in D.C. and she graciously allowed us to stay with her for a couple of days.

The best part was that Meagan has lived in D.C. for years and knows her way around, both geographically and politically. She told us all sorts of interesting tidbits of information of the history of different neighborhoods in D.C., the streets, the nightlife, the people....all sorts of stuff. In other words, we got an insider's view of the city; not just that of a tourist. But-that being said-we again did the touristy thing to see the sights of the city and rode the double-decker bus !

 In case I look too incognito, I'm the sexy big-eared vixen on the left!! 

We caught the tour at Union Station. Wow! That was something to see! And at this point we had just looked at it from the outside! There are 4 colored lines of tour buses you can ride to catch all the sights in the district. The one that had most of the standard things everyone wants to see when they visit D.C. is the Red line, so that's the one we took first.

The Red line took us to see multiple sites of Smithsonian museums. In case you don't know, there are 14 (I think) Smithsonian's in D.C. The only one we went into was the Portraits museum. And it was HUGE! I don't know if you could see everything D.C. has to offer if you stayed there for 3 weeks!

SO-we told ourselves from the very beginning that this would be a very 'macro' sightseeing visit of D.C. In hopes that maybe someday I can go back and see the things I missed and other things I saw in more detail. The castle below is the main Smithsonian Museum.

 And of course, the Washington Monument...

 The Lincoln Memorial....

 One of the places we hopped off the bus was the Korean War Memorial. My dad served in the Navy on the USS DeHaven destroyer during that 'conflict'. So I wanted to be sure to take photos to show him the memorial created for them. It was pretty amazing...

 There are nineteen  seven foot statues of soldiers appearing as if they are walking through the Korean  terrain. There is also a Pool of Remembrance and a wall with etched soldiers from all branches of the service.

"Our nation honors her sons and daughters who answered the call to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met", says the inscription on 

the Pool of Remembrance at this memorial.

 And, finally, the call of the Korean War...

 Gave me goosebumps, Ladies and Gentlemen. I would love to see it at night.

Then, of course, there are the two most photo'd sites in D.C.:

 Not me! The Capital!! Teeheee...... and:

I really enjoyed and was awed by the amazing amount of buildings that are stuffed into the District of Columbia. Meagan lives in a row house, which I have always found fascinating. These are rowhouses in the Georgetown area.

 They have a serious parking problem in D.C. So many people, so many cars, so little space to put them. There are no freeways in Washington, so traffic is very stop and go. And U-turns can be (and are) made anywhere. And if you hesitate at a light or on a turn, you WILL receive a honk from someone! So my suggestion to you is to take the subway! I have always wanted to take a subway. When I visited NYC long ago, I wanted to try the subway but was too scared. It is very intimidating. But-our wonderful host Meagan explained how it worked so well that we took the subway home, and even transferred trains!!

It was SO COOL!!

 Every city should have a subway system. In fact, I'm amazed that they don't! We headed back to Meagan's right around rush hour and it was amazing how quickly you can get from point A to point B even if its all the way to the other side! I'm sold on subways...

After washing off the 100 degree heat of the day of sightseeing, we set out again to see a little nightlife. We walked along the U Street area and saw the Howard Theatre, the historic arts landmark that launched the careers of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes. It was just re-opened after an extensive remodeling.  Very beautiful!

 We had intentions of eating at Ben's Chili Bowl-another landmark in Washington. But concerns of acid reflux scared us into the restaurant next door, interestingly called Next Door.

It was here that I had my favorite meal of the whole trip. Well, it wasn't even technically a meal, but an appetizer. But after the hot day we'd just gone through, none of us had a big appetite. So I ordered a
Crispy Tomato with Mozzarella  $8 served warm with balsamic reduction, extra virgin olive oil, & fresh herbs 

and it was AMAZING!!! I want to learn how to make it....hope I can figure it out!!

I ate every morsel. We also had some Ben's Chili Cheese Fries on the side. Good. Spicy. Glad I went with the tomato.....  :D.

Wish I could tell you we danced the night away, but after eating we walked toward home, got sprinkled on a bit, went back to the cozy row-house, and.....well..........zzzzzzzzzzz.

Next:   Tennessee Again!?!

NY Trippin'- DC and Points South

First, let me try to post some pics from Philadelphia and the beautiful Amish country of southern Pennsylvania. First up, here we are on the double decker bus. Which-by the way-is a great way to see the sights when you are just passing through a city:

The building below is in the middle of Philly. The road goes in a circle around it. In the old days the road actually went through the building....for horse and buggy! This is Philadelphia city hall. It is an amazing building. And HUGE! The city doesn't even use the entire building.

Museum of art below:

These are the steps from the Rocky movie (can't you just hear the music??)

Betsy Ross' house. Smack middle of downtown.

 Having a Philly cheesesteak in Philly. Just a mall version. Would love to have found a hole-in-the-wall place with the best in town!!

 Behind me below is Independence Hall. Where the Declaration of Independence was signed. Wow....just felt unbelievable to be walking on the same ground as people like Thomas Jefferson, George Wasington, Benjamin Franklin......

 And of course, the Liberty Bell.

 And did you know that the game Monopoly was fashioned after places in Philadelphia? Streets, railroads, etc.

Philadelphia is chock full of stuff to see. And its a beautiful city too. Definitely a place to spend a vacation. And now some pics from Lancaster. The beautiful Amish country. All I can say is Wow....

We found an Amish just finishing baling hay. Using a normal baler, but pulled by horses!

Passed by a horse and buggy.

That then went over a covered bridge!! We got to have such a perfect storybook experience!

We then went shopping/thrifting.....and found some great stuff. Janet had the find of the day...she found an Amish quilt made in 1968 for only $60!! It's beautiful!

And we found a little minor miracle called a Goodwill Bargain Bin! OMG!! Right down our alley. Everything was like $.75 and $.85....Oh Yeah!!!

All that thrifting made us very hungry, so before we left Pennsylvania, we stopped at Jennie's Diner. A real, true traincar with little Jukeboxes on each table. Check out the mint green and red blinds in the window.

This place was as authentic as it gets. The waitresses were older and had been working there for years. You know when the back parking lot is full of 18-wheelers, that you've picked a good place to eat. We sat next to a trucker from Maine. We struck up a conversation and found out he had a border collie waiting for him in his truck who had saved his life when he had a heart attack on one of his previous trips. He told us his wife used to ride with him for years, but when the economy staled she had to take a job in Maine in a factory that makes chalices and robes for Catholic priests. When we asked him which truck was his, he said his had a lavender grill and fenders. Thats why other truckers started calling him Lavender Larry! What a great guy. We really enjoyed our visit with you Lavender Larry! Happy trails!!

Well, I was going to tell you about D.C. in this entry, but just didn't have time. We are due to hit Texas today. I'll be able to finish this trip blog when I get home and to a solid internet signal. Stayed the night in Alexandria, LA., about an hour or so out of Texas. Gotta go! Love.

NY Tripping' - Philly, Amish, and Gone!

It was hard to leave the beautiful area of Dingmans Ferry/Milford. And to tell Charlie goodbye. But-it was time to get on the road again. So Tues morning we hit the road to Philadelphia. Beautiful city, full of history and things to do. We saw a movie that told of all the historic events that took place in Philly, then took a whirlwind tour on a double-decker bus to see some sights. Saw Betsy Ross' house, independence Hall, and the liberty bell. (bad Internet here, so no pics) Then we had a late lunch of (of course) Philly cheese steaks-which were not all that great-but we scarfed them down because we were hungry. We then hit the road again, down to Lancaster and Amish country. Stayed outside Lancaster and took off the next morning to find some deals and some examples of Amish life. We got some great stuff! And-some beautiful pics! I'll try to post photos at the next stop. And-next post-our super quick stay in D.C. Love!

NY Trippin' - Putzing around PA, NY, and NJ

Sunday, July 22

What a beautiful day! Started the day with a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes. After breakfast we headed into Milford PA to soak up some local color.

We went to have lunch at the Black Bear Cafe. Had mexican food.....in Pennsylvania! At a place called Black Bear?? Go figure. And it was good! I had enchiladas, rice and beans. Not tex mex, but good!

Then we checked out an art exhibit downtown. It was full of local(ish) artists.

Then we walked across the street to a little park and there was a jazz band playing and kids making their own art. I'm not kidding! It was like something you'd see in a movie.

Afterwards, we went to see the home of the most popular governor of Pennsylvania. I, of course, can't remember his name. But, the estate is called Grey towers. AMAZINGLY beautiful!

 Then we crossed Dingman's bridge-an old metal bridge. Finally, we checked out Dingman's Falls. Because of a storm a couple of years ago, unbeknownst to us, the road was closed because of damage. So we had to walk a LONG way to see the falls. There is more than one set of falls, but I put a photo of the biggest one below.

 



We had a wonderful day. Then we went to the grocery, picked up chicken to grill for dinner. Charlie lit the torches on the deck and we enjoyed dinner on the deck.

The next day we went with Charlie to work in Katonah, NY. It's a 1 1/2 hour drive! It took us longer longer on Monday because we drove into a bunch of rain. Here's where we crossed the Delaware river into New York.

Charlie's job is a restoration artist for antique lawn art. I'm talking expensive lawn art. Like, thousands of dollars for an urn expensive. This business is owned by a lady who owns like 3 or 4 houses, this house being their farmhouse. It's unbelievable.....

 

Below is Charlie's workshop at the farmhouse.

That night, when we returned to Charlies, there was a big storm. The wind blew, the rain fell. The trees were swaying. Big limbs fell. It was a little scary. That night the electricity went out for a bit. Didn't matter to me though. I hit the pillow and I was out.....

Next: Leaving Charlie's and spending time down in southern PA in amish country. And we saw a covered bridge!

NY Trippin' - Pennsylvania Home Away From Home

Saturday, July 21
62 degrees? Is that really the temperature?? It rained in the night as a front came through, leaving us with a cool, crisp morning. We had breakfast in a restaurant served and apparently cooked by amish girls. It was a buffet so I got to try local dishes like scrapple: made of scraps left over from butchering made into a loaf that is then fried and served for breakfast. I also tried corned beef hash for the first time.....and the last  :)  !!




After breakfast we headed north toward Dingmans Ferry to find Charlie.

There are barns and silos all over this area. Different looking for a Texas girl, but I guess the silos hold the feed for the animals over the cold cold winters up here. I love the look of the dutch (I guess) style of the barns. As we climb north, the trees again get thicker and taller. Just beautiful

We made it to Dingman's Ferry about midday and had no trouble finding Charlie's place. At this point let me put in a plug for GPS systems. They're wonderful! If you have an address or even just a city as a destination, you plug it into the GPS and you can then drive without having to worry about looking for signs, watching a map really closely etc. You can enjoy the sites along the way and count on the GPS to get you to your next destination without appearing to be a frustrating newbie Texas driver frustrating other drivers on the Pennsylvania roadway. and so-- here is Charlie's beautiful house/art studio!!

We quickly unpacked and celebrated our arrival.

Charlie was a wonderful host. We had a tour of the house and had lunch before heading out to Port Jurvis, New York to an afternoon artwalk.

After purchasing a few treasures, we went by the grocery store and got food to grill for dinner. The evening was cool and we ate on the deck and it was AMAZING for being mid-July.

Next post: Milford, PA...it's like we could run into Beaver Cleaver on the corner! Just a story-book little community....  Love!