This past weekend I accompanied our Postulants, Ramon Castellon and Zachary Bischler, on a trip to Eastern Kentucky to visit with the friars and to acquaint them with the ministry that the friars are doing in this part of the province. 

We made our first stop in Jackson, Kentucky to have lunch with Jerry Beetz, O.F.M., Reynolds Garland, O.F.M. and a couple of the parishioners from Holy Cross Church.  During our lunch we heard of the challenges and the many needs of the local community that the Catholic community at Holy Cross try to meet on a daily basis. 

From there we drove on to Mother of Good Counsel Church in Hazard, Kentucky.  On Saturday morning we joined the parish team and some of the parishioners to clean up the local cemetery.  As we were going about the work of raking leaves, cleaning off graves, picking up bottles and cans and trimming trees of dead branches it occurred to me that we were doing Holy Work.  Some of the graves had not been attended to for some time and other graves had their stones knocked over. 

Although we did not know the people buried in this cemetery our presence and work showed respect for these ancestors of the city of Hazard and Perry County.  At the end of our work we prayed and gave thanks to God for our bothers and sisters who have had their bodies laid to rest in this cemetery.  I think we preached this day without using any words.